Transformers: Birth of an Angel
by ChibiLover123
Summary: Redone! I hope you guys like this story a little better, since I tweaked a few things. Chapters 10 Up! -Bumblebee/OC- -OC/OC friendship-
1. Chapter 1

Keke was never your average thirteen-year-old, but no one could have foreseen what she could become after her brother buys an alien robot for his first car...

Keke Witwicky is a computer genius, always thinking and always getting into trouble.

Guardian is a sentient alien robot given life in order to protect her.

Life will never be the same once Keke sets her eyes on the '76 Chevy Camaro in 'Bolivia's Used Car Lot', and things only getter weirder for her from there.

Keke is about to discover that there's more to her than meets the eye.

Pairing(s): Bumblebee/Keke  
>GuardianKeke friendship

* * *

><p>"<em>Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war. A war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home. Searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called…Earth. But we were already too late…<em>"

* * *

><p>Sunlight angled through the low warehouse windows, eating away the edges of shadows as they encompassed the massive room.<p>

Metal gleamed dully from the cluttered tables, and the smell of oil permeated the interior despite its well-kept appearance.

Hidden in the far corner was a 2007 Lotus Elise MSRP convertible, bright blue with red lines along the hood and sides that seemed to shine in the late afternoon light.

Once the internal clock read _7:00 pm_, the car turned on.

* * *

><p>The entire room was dark except for the glow of a computer monitor, outlining the form of an unmade bed, a nightstand, and the thirteen-year-old girl sitting before it.<p>

Bright blue eyes darted over the screen, and she typed rapidly, causing computer code to fly down the screen as quickly as racecars down a track.

Smiling once the code was done, the teen blew dark curls out of her face and sat back as the program booted up.

"_Yes_!" She whisper-yelled, pumping her fist as the opening sequence of her newest project came on-screen, '_Battle for Earth_'.

Proud of herself, the girl spun her chair around to stand, stretching out her back and arms with a sigh.

Walking by the window to root through her mini-fridge for a soda, the teen froze up, staring out at the street below.

Parked across the street was a shiny blue and red convertible.

* * *

><p>Have you ever felt like you were being watched by an inanimate object?<p>

Every time I look at that awesome convertible, that's the feeling I get.

I mean, it's not like I feel threatened or anything, more like…

Like I'm safe.

God, I must _really_ be insane, feeling safe around a car that's been following me around.

Isn't it bad enough that I have Sam for a brother?

Popping open the soda can and licking any wayward liquid off my fingers, I turned back to my game with the sole intent of ignoring that convertible.

It always came by in the mornings while I was at school and sat around during the night, so there wasn't much else for me to do.

Seeing a terrifying face with red eyes on the screen that brought horrible flashbacks of frequent nightmares, I figured I should just play some Solitaire…


	2. Chapter 2

"-And it just crashed! Do you think you can fix it?"

"I'll have it done in a nanosec, Mr. Detrin." I assured, noting the stress wrinkles around the man's eyes.

"It won't be too hard."

Sitting in front of the older man's computer, I tapped the keys experimentally to see if the screen had frozen.

Fortunately, it wasn't, and I easily got through to the computer's programming software from there.

There was an error in the coding, and once that was cleared up, everything ran smoothly.

"All done."

I couldn't help a smirk at the astonished look on Mr. Detrin's face.

"Already?"

"I said it would be easy."

You'd think after fixing every computer in this school would make people trust me…

"Well, you can head back to your teacher now, I suppose." Mr. Detrin replied, sitting at his computer in front of the group of bored sixth-graders.

Nodding in answer, I picked up my bag, checking that the Batman pins were secure.

Once in the hall, I hesitated.

School would be over in about ten minutes, and my English teacher, Ms. York, liked to yell at her students for being 'illiterate monkeys' around this time.

Considering that she didn't like me (I'm nowhere near as good with writing as I am with math or computers), I decided to just head outside early.

I was on good terms with the hall monitors (after giving them demos of my games to try out, they never bothered to look anywhere else), so there were no worries about getting caught.

Unfortunately, this gave me time to think; a dangerous pastime where I'm concerned.

Last time I was allowed free-time to think, I blew up the toilet in my house and made the stairs into a waterslide.

Only this time around, I had something more troubling on my mind than whether or not I could even fit a firecracker into the toilet; my dreams.

They were the driving force behind my newest game,_ 'Battle for Earth_', ever since I hit what my mother calls the 'my-daughter's-becoming-a-woman-quick-give-her-The-Talk' phase.

Every time I close my eyes, all I ever see is that strange metal world bursting into flames and the burning red eyes of that metal monster.

What is that world I keep seeing?

Is it even real?

I can't…

I can't remember.

The bell's shrill scream distracted me from my worries, and I kicked it into high gear out the front doors.

Dad always picked me up before heading to the high school for Sam, and he didn't like me being late.

He was easy enough to spot, honking his horn and waving as he was, and I ran up to the car, swinging my bag into the backseat.

"Hey, dad."

"Hello, sweetheart. How was your day?"

"Fine." I lied, buckling my seatbelt once inside.

We pulled away as the middle school emptied of students eager for summer vacation, just before the streets were clogged with school buses.

Relieved that the long wait had been avoided, I relaxed into the car seat.

There was a sea of students milling around in front of the high school, and Sam definitely wasn't among them.

Trust me, I would have noticed.

"Where's your brother?" Dad grumbled impatiently.

"Probably begging for that last 'A'." I guessed, shrugging.

What can I say?

My brother _really_ wants a car.

"Hey, dad! Hey, Keke!"

Speak of the devil, and he shall come…

Sam's bag slammed into my face as he practically scrambled into the passenger seat, saying something about "It's an 'A-', but it's still an 'A'!" at about a hundred miles per hour.

"Alright, alright." Dad replied, giving in.

"It's an 'A'."

"WHOO-HOO!" Sam cheered, pumping his fist into the air as we pulled away from the school.

"You know you're gonna have to drive me around from now on, right?"

His joy turned in despair, and he smacked his head on the dashboard as I laughed.

It's a little sister's job to do that, after all.

"You're a horrible human being!"

"And you're stuck with me, sucker!"

Dad only laughed as Sam stuck his tongue out at me and I kicked the back of his seat, used to our antics.

I may torture the poor boy, but he was still my brother, you know?

"I've got a little surprise for you, son." Dad said, suspiciously happy as we passed a Porsche dealership.

"No, no, no, no! Dad! Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Sam practically squealed, looking ready to jump out and hug the nearest car on the lot.

"Yeah, I am. You're not getting a Porsche!"

My laughter drowned out Sam's angry grumblings as I fell onto my side, unable to sit up and gasping for air.

By the time I pulled myself up, dad was turning into a 'Bolivia's Used Car Lot'.

I don't know how it could be a car lot with all the rusted-out husks lying around…

Swinging myself over the door, I started perusing the car options as Sam complained.

"You ever seen 'The Forty Year Old Virgin'?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, you see this? _This_ is the forty year old virgin, and _this_ is the fifty year old virgin!"

Crybaby.

Sure, none of these cars looked like they belonged in car magazines, but at least they'd run.

At lease, I hope they run…

Ignoring my family (a special talent that sometimes backfires), I tried to find something that didn't look like it was about to fall apart.

Once I had stepped around the massive, rusted hulk of what was once a truck, I found it.

A yellow '76 Chevy Camaro with black racing stripes.

I think I melted.

Picking my jaw up off the ground, I maneuvered around the rest of the cars in the lot to reach the beauty of a car, grinning the entire way.

"How'd a beauty like you end up in a dump like this?" I wondered aloud, running a hand over the hood in wonder.

The frame seemed to vibrate, but I just chalked it up to my own excitement as I peeked inside through the passenger-side window.

Whistling in admiration, I pat the well-worn leather interior and leaned further in.

There was an air-freshener hanging from the rearview mirror with a bee on it and the words 'BEE-OTCH', and I couldn't help giggling.

"Cute."

"Keke, are you talking to yourself again?"

"It's the only way I get intelligent conversation." I defended, pouting at my dumbstruck older brother through the windshield.

"Whoa! How'd you find it?"

"The car's not an 'it'." I informed matter-of-factly.

"The car's a 'he', and I am naming him Bee."

"Dude, this is supposed be _my_ new car!"

"And everything that's yours is mine."

"Where do you come up with this stuff?"

"From talking to myself. It works wonders."

I couldn't hold in my laughter anymore as he gave himself a face-palm, and the car actually seemed to shake under my forearms.

"You're _crazy_, you know that?"

"I think we established that a long time ago." I reminded him, smiling as Sam investigated the Camaro from the other side.

"What do you think?"

"I think it's-."

Sam immediately noticed my glare, and stuttered to correct himself.

"I-I mean, I-I think he's great! He!"

Even though I could definitely hurt him for referring to this beautiful car as an 'it' (years of martial arts certainly gives a girl options), I didn't want Sam to crap himself next to Bee.

This car is way too amazing to have to go through something like that.

Once he was sure I wouldn't leap through the car to strangle him senseless, Sam opened the door to sit in the driver's seat.

"Feels good."

"He should." I scolded, joining him inside the Camaro.

The seats were like _heaven_, and I just sunk into the leather without a care in the world.

"If you don't get Bee, I'm going to kill you."

"Like I'd get anything else they have here!" Sam replied, trying to sound insulted even through his laughter.

"You've done stupider things before."

"You jumped out that window first! I was trying to keep you from getting hurt!"

"I'm sure dad's car appreciated the thought."

Before Sam could try to defend himself, dad had arrived and asked the owner how much the Camaro cost.

"Well, judging by the custom paintjob-."

"It's custom-faded?" Sam piped up, rudely interrupting the man.

"I'll let you have it for five thousand."

"No, I'm not going above four thousand." Dad insisted.

"The door just closed. Get out of the car."

"Wait a minute. I thought you said 'the car chooses its owner'." Sam protested.

"Yeah, well sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap-ass father!"

As the car lot owner moved to the old VW Bug sitting on my side of the car, I decided it was time for drastic measures.

"Daddy…" I whined, getting his attention.

Pouting and getting some tears going with the memory of my goldfish Sunny getting flushed down the toilet before his time, I sniffled.

"I really like this one. Can't we get this car, _please_? I'll help Sam take care of him, I promise!"

The car seemed to hum in agreement like a begging puppy, but I figured it was probably just my overactive imagination kicking into gear.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I'm not paying five thousand dollars for your brother's first car."

Fighting down the urge to scowl as Sam got out, I sighed, patting the dashboard.

"Guess you're not coming home with us after all, big guy…"

The passenger door swung open only a moment later, slamming into the VW Bug the lot owner had been trying to sell Sam.

I'm pretty sure my eyes were the size of dinner plates.

"Keke!"

"It wasn't me!" I shouted, holding my hands up like a cornered convict.

Trying to distract them from the damage (I'd cry if I didn't love the Camaro so much; that little Bug was pretty nice), the owner was coaxing dad over to another car.

The radio clicking on stopped me from getting out.

Are radios supposed to do that?

I jumped as the door closed and the window rolled up, digging my fingers into the leather seat.

"What-?"

A high-frequency shriek escaped the radio, and I covered my ears on instinct as glass shattered.

Once I found the courage to peek out the window, I covered my mouth to hide a smile at all of the shattered windshields and the panicked look on the lot owner's face.

"F-Four thousand!"

Staring at the radio, I couldn't help a giggle.

"Good boy."


	3. Chapter 3

As my computer ran the newest addition to my program, I stared at the sketches left on my bed.

The eyes seemed to stare up at me from the paper, asking me to understand some silent message I couldn't decipher.

I had drawn them the moment I had gotten home, as if my muse was suddenly woken up and demanded I draw something.

After a few sketches, my muse seemed satisfied and left me well enough alone.

The first ones I had done were of various robotic humanoids, all different sizes and shapes, but with the same kinds of eyes that seemed to be so _alive_.

The others were of this large cube, which was covered in these strange, intricate symbols.

I had just added all of them into '_Battle for Earth_', and I couldn't help wondering where the idea had come from.

Sure, I'm pretty weird, and my imagination tends to take crazy tangents, but I had never thought up anything like '_Battle for Earth_' before.

God, but I feel like I _know_ them…

"This…I can't do it anymore. You're putting girl jewelry on a boy dog."

Jerked out of my thoughts, I turned towards my open window and peeked out as mom replied.

"What?"

"He's got enough self-esteem issues being a Chihuahua, mom." Sam complained.

"That's his bling!"

Only my mom would try to make our Chihuahua gangster…

Still, I had more urgent things to take care of instead of wondering whatever malfunction my mom had.

Sam was leaving.

Practically jumping out of my chair, I ran down the hall, slid down the railing, and bolted out the front door.

Slowing down to catch my breath, I stopped by the driver's side and leaned on the open door.

"Where are you going?"

I swear, Sam must have jumped three feet in the air.

"N-Nowhere! Wh-What makes you think I'm going anywhere? 'C-Cause I'm not!"

"…Sam, you're in the driver's seat of the Camaro with the keys in your hand."

"…Just get in."

Grinning at the easy victory, I practically jumped into the backseat, careful to keep my sneakers off the upholstery.

It was nice to see that the seats were just as comfortable there as in the front.

"So, where are we going?" I wondered.

"We're picking up Miles and going to the lake."

I couldn't help but slump in my seat, pouting.

"_Miles_? You're letting that _idiot_ get inside Bee? Are you trying to ruin everything I love?"

"He's my friend, so you're going to be nice to him. And that means you don't make jokes about him he can't understand!"

"It's not _my_ fault he can't keep up with my wit!"

"Just-Just be nice to him, okay? Just this once?"

"Fine…"

I'd be nice to his nose-picking friend _just this once_, and _only_ because Sam had asked nicely.

Smiling like the goof he is, Sam started up Bee and we were on our way.

"You better appreciate this…" I grumbled as the car pulled to a stop outside Miles' house.

The car seemed to rumble underneath me as Miles got in, and I figured it was from the engine.

"Man, you brought the little supercomputer?" Miles whined, looking betrayed.

"Be nice." Sam replied.

"Keke's already promised not to pick on you, so don't bait her."

The idiot grumbled his agreement, looking more sulky than I felt, as we pulled out and headed to the lake.

"So, what are we going to the lake for?" I wondered, playing with the frayed edges of my jean shorts.

"There's a party." Miles answered simply, still upset.

"Are you two invited to this party?"

"…"

"…"

"…You guys are idiots."

"Hey, it's a public place! This is a free country!" Sam defended, looking awfully red.

"We can go there if we want!"

"I'm sure that all of the people there will be happy to see you two, then."

Rubbing the bridge of my nose to fight down a headache (these two _always_ gave me a stupidity overload), I leaned back and let out a sigh.

This was a bad idea…

Feeling the Camaro stop, I mentally prepared myself for the embarrassment and violence that was sure to come.

Climbing into the front once Miles was gone, I paused as the radio gave off static again.

I remembered what had happened last time the radio gave off static…

"_Once there was the sun/Bright and warm and wonderful/Just like the love within my heart_…"

Remembering the song from an old movie I'd watched as a kid, 'Thumbelina', I giggled.

Slipping out through the passenger's side (while making a note to tell Sam about the radio), I immediately realized that this had been a _horrible_ idea.

How did I know, you ask?

Because Trent was there with his jock buddies, and Miles was climbing a tree.

Yeah, you read that right.

Dumbass…

"So, what are you guys doing here?"

"We're here to climb this tree." Sam answered after looking up at his friend.

Correction; dumb_asses_.

"You know, I thought I recognized you. You tried out for the football team last year, right?" Trent stated.

"Oh, no, no, that…No. That, that wasn't like a real try-out. I was researching a book I was writing."

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah? What's it about? Sucking at sports?"

I refrained from slamming Bee's door in my anger (no matter how good it probably would have made me feel).

"No, it's about the link between brain damage and football."

Damn, Sam's pretty good at this…

"No, it's…it's a good book. Your friends will love it. You know, it's got mazes in it and, you know, little coloring areas, sections, pop-up pictures. It's…a lot of fun."

And then he starts talking…

Trent looked about ready to blow a gasket and knock out some of Sam's teeth, causing me to practically jumped in front of Sam with a scowl.

"Don't even think about it."

"You don't scare me, pipsqueak."

And then he shoved me.

He _shoved_ me!

I landed on my ass, stunned, while Sam started panicking and trying to calm me down all at once.

It didn't work.

Enraged, I stood up and punched Trent in the face.

I can't even _begin_ to tell you how satisfying that was.

Shaking out my hand to keep the throbbing down, I smirked as he clutched his broken nose and tried to cuss at me.

He seemed ready to punch me back instead of shove me, and I was ready to do worse than break his nose when someone else got in the way.

Sam took the opportunity to grab me around the waist and haul me back to Bee, and I didn't fight him.

Explaining to my mom why her 'defenseless little girl' had gotten into a fight with a high school football player wasn't something I'd enjoy doing…

Climbing into the backseat, I dropped onto my back on the worn leather and relaxed, waiting for the pre-fight adrenaline to wear off.

The radio clicked on again as Sam went to get his friend out of the tree.

"_She left that loser in a dust cloud_…"

Smiling, I stretched out as my muscles slowly uncoiled and my thoughts slowed down to a more subdued pace.

"Are you okay?" Sam wondered cautiously, turning around in the driver's seat as Miles wiggled in through the window.

"Fine." I mumbled, kicking Miles in the shoulder for not using the door before turning away from them.

When the Camaro didn't start up, I lifted my head and looked at my brother curiously.

"Sam?"

"She needs a ride home…"

Levering myself up, I saw the girl that had stopped Trent walking away from him angrily through the windshield.

What was her name again?

All I knew was that Sam had a crush on her.

"Go for it." I replied, dropping back down with a huff.

"Really?" He replied, sounding hopeful.

"Sure."

"…Miles, get out."

"What?"

"Miles, get out!"

"Dude, let her walk home!"

"She lives over two hours away! Get out, man!"

"Bros before hoes, dude!"

I kicked Miles for that one, and he grumbled while getting out of Bee.

Sam reached across and flailed a moment before closing the door, shifting Bee into reverse.

I managed to grab onto the seatbelts before we pulled out, keeping myself from falling onto the floor, and winced as my knuckles throbbed in pain.

Guess I punched Trent harder than I had thought…


	4. Chapter 4

I once had a friend who was claustrophobic.

He'd been shoved into a closet when he was little and left in there for hours, and after that, he couldn't even be in a room with the lights off.

Said it was like the darkness was trying to suffocate him.

Now, in this dark world, I understood what he meant.

The shadows seemed to be pressing up against my lungs from the outside, squeezing the breath out of me like giant fingers.

I think that is what panic feels like.

Glowing red eyes loomed over me in the dark, demanding obedience and fear and something else I couldn't hear.

I admit that I was terrified; terrified of dying and terrified of failing, though I didn't know what I was failing at.

Just as the panic neared an almost unbearable level, just as my heart felt like it was about to burst out of my chest, another presence made itself known.

Another set of glowing eyes came out of the darkness, only blue instead of red.

With them came a rush of love and fear and a wordless beg that I couldn't decipher.

Then there was a sharp stab of pain in my chest and-

And I woke up.

My heart was still racing, feeling the residual effects of my fright, as I stared up at the ceiling of my bedroom.

The strange symbols I had drawn on the white paint helped soothe my nerves, and I was eventually able to think clearly.

My alarm clock read _1:27 am_ in bright green, which meant I had another sleepless night ahead of me.

Kicking my legs free of the tangle my nightmare had caused, I kicked my skateboard across the room and stood up.

Yawning wide enough to crack my jaw, I pulled my baggy pajama shirt down and stumbled to my computer.

"Morning, girl." I cooed, pressing the power button.

"Why don't you warm up while I get a soda?"

Stretching out my back as the screen lit up bright blue, I rummaged through my mini-fridge for a Dr. Pepper.

No sooner had I popped the cap than Sam burst through the door.

Fumbling with the bottle, I cursed as some spilled onto my hand and onto the floor.

"Someone's stealing the car!"

Any swear words I was about to say immediately died on my tongue.

"_What_?"

"Call the police! I'm going after them!"

Sam was down the hall before my brain had fully processed the implications.

"What are you going to do? Scream like a little girl and hope they give him back?" I shouted down the stairs, heart pounding as the door slammed shut.

A part of me knew that calling the police was the best thing I could do for him at the moment, but I couldn't quite fight down the impulse to grab my skateboard and go out after him.

Upset with my own indecision, I ran back into my room as mom and dad came out into the hallway, asking what was wrong.

Picking up the phone next to my closet door (a left-over from when this room was an office), I dialed 9-1-1 as dad came in after me.

It was gonna be a _long_ night…

* * *

><p>"The <em>one time <em>I trust you not to do something stupid, _and you get arrested_?"

"Hey, it's not like I planned this!" Sam protested, disheveled after a night in the precinct.

"Oh, I _know_ you didn't plan this. Even someone of your talents couldn't get into this much trouble if you _tried_." I replied angrily.

I was upset, but not with Sam; there was an irrational part of me that believed, if I had been there, that he wouldn't have been in this situation.

Even though I knew that wasn't true, I couldn't help being angry with myself and snapping.

Before Sam could say anything to defend himself, dad was pulling me back so the entering police officers could question him.

Then Sam told the story of chasing his unmanned car to the junkyard, of seeing the Camaro stand up and send a signal into the sky, and being chased by the guard dogs before getting caught by the police.

I knew Sam wasn't lying (he's a horrible liar, and I know him too well), but I could barely believe the story myself.

"Look, I can't be any clearer than how crystal clear I am being. It just stood up." Sam repeated, exasperated.

"It just stood up? Wow. That's really neat. Okay, chief. Time to fill her up." The sheriff replied, holding out a container.

"And no drippy-drippy. What are you rolling? Whippets? Goofballs? A little wowwie sauce with the boys?"

…

_What_?

"No, I'm not on any drugs!"

…

Those were _drugs_?

God, I got a headache just trying to think of what they _were_.

"What's these?" The sheriff demanded, taking out the pill bottle Sam carried around for Mojo.

"Found it in your pocket. 'Mojo'. Is that what the kids are doing now, a little bit of Mojo?"

"Those are my dog's pain pills." Sam answered slowly, like to a highly-reactive child.

"You know, a Chihuahua. A little…" Dad added, holding his hands to show how small Mojo was.

"What was that?"

Are police officers supposed to twitch?

I'm pretty sure they're not supposed to twitch…

"You eyeballing my piece, 50 Cent? You wanna go?"

The sheriff leaned over Sam threateningly, and I stepped forward out of instinct.

"Make something happen. Do it. 'Cause I promise you I will bust you up."

"Are you on drugs?"

I'm not sure who the sheriff was more upset with for that, me or Sam…


	5. Chapter 5

I don't think I had ever seen dad more upset than that day driving back from the precinct.

After an hour of him threatening us with bodily harm, me and Sam were temporarily off the hook.

Personally, I was just happy to get away and watch my 'Criminal Minds' marathon.

Unfortunately, good things in my life often come to a premature end…

"KEKE!"

Startled out of my good mood, I flailed and fell off the couch with a heavy 'THUD'.

"…_Ow_…"

"Come on, come on! There's no time for a nap!" Sam panicked, picking me up off the floor and dragging me with him towards the garage door.

"There might be if you told me what the _hell_ is going on with you!" I retorted, stopping beside mom's bicycle as Sam scrambled on.

"Um yeah, Satan's Camaro? It's stalking me!"

"If you just called Bee 'Satan's Camaro', I'm gonna-!"

I was cut off mid-threat when Sam hauled me up onto the handlebars and started pedaling.

"SAM!"

"Hold on!"

I didn't have much choice in the matter, and gripped the handles so hard that my knuckles turned white.

Adrenaline rushed through my systems like nitro into a racecar engine, and I couldn't help but enjoy myself.

I've always been a thrill-seeker, doing reckless things just to see if I could, so it shouldn't have been a surprise…

The rev of an engine caught my attention, and I looked over my shoulder to see Bee following right behind us.

"Um, Sam?"

"Yeah?" He replied, already breathless.

"You might not want to look back."

Of course, he didn't listen to me, and Sam practically shrieked while pedaling harder.

The increase in speed made my heart beat faster in excitement, and I bit my lip to keep from laughing.

We had just passed out of the residential area when I saw it.

A panel of the sidewalk was raised out of place, most likely because of a subterranean plant root.

And we were heading straight for it.

"SAM-!"

The front wheel struck the concrete, and there was a weightless moment just before I slammed onto the sidewalk on my left arm.

Slightly dazed from the impact, I pushed myself up and groaned at the rush of blood from my head.

As my senses cleared, I noticed the half-subdued laughter and looked up to see Mikaela sitting in front of a café with her friends.

Apparently, two people flying off a bike onto their faces is funny to the people she hung out with…

"That was, uh…That was really awesome." Mikaela voiced, sounding uncertain.

"Felt awesome." Sam replied, getting to his feet with a groan.

I kicked him in the shin as punishment for my impromptu flight before forcing myself to stand, picking up mom's bike.

"Are you guys okay?" Mikaela wondered.

"No, I'm not okay, alright? I'm losing my mind a little bit. Getting chased by my car right now, gotta go!"

Before I could say anything about Sam's mind (and I had a _lot_ of things to say), he yanked me back onto the handlebars.

Resigned to my fate, I only grumbled a few choice words and stayed on the look-out for anymore flight-causing obstacles.

It's all fun and games before you get a road rash…

Sam turned us into a parking garage, and I was ready to question if I had given him brain damage when we crashed.

_Again_.

I was sent flying over the open car door and slammed to the ground on the back of my shoulders.

The urge to hurt Sam was definitely strong at that point…

As air returned to my shocked lungs, I realized he was trying to talk with the police officer that had interrupted our mad dash for freedom.

Sitting up, I came eye-level with the words written on the side of police vehicles, only they weren't 'To Protect and Serve'.

"'To Punish and Enslave'…" I whispered, a shiver rushing down my spine like electricity.

I had a feeling that we were royally screwed.

"_Sam_…"

The engine roared, and I rolled away as the cruiser jerked forward.

Sam shrieked like a little girl and tried to scramble away on his back, putting his feet on the bumper to keep from being run over.

I would have kicked the cruiser if I hadn't seen the claws coming out of the grill.

_Yeah_, we were screwed.

Moving in-between some of the nearby cars, I watched as the police cruiser _transformed _into a giant humanoid robot.

The eyes were red, red like the eyes in my dream, and I froze.

A thousand thoughts were racing through my mind at that moment, fueled by panic and the urge to protect.

When the robot threw Sam onto the hood of a car, my protectiveness won.

My hand landed on a chunk of concrete, and I hefted it up like a baseball, testing the weight.

Then I stood up and chucked it at the robot's head.

Now, I know what you're thinking: "Why would you throw a rock at a giant robot's head?"

Truthfully, I have no idea why.

You see, when someone hurts Sam (and a _lot_ of people do that), I always get pissed and want to hurt that person.

Obviously, my survival instincts flee the vicinity whenever this happens…

Luckily, my rage didn't abandon me when the robot turned on me, clearly upset with me.

"Why don't you mess with someone whose not afraid of you?"

He seemed to take me up on that offer, and it was like a dormant instinct clicked on.

My right arm exploded in agony, and I couldn't even scream as metal shifted over metal, energy humming in my ears like a hummingbird's wings.

Looking down, I suddenly felt dizzy.

My arm had turned into a cannon.

_Holy shit_.

The roar of an engine pulled my attention away, and I turned around to see the blue and red convertible turn the corner and race straight towards me.

My skin tingled as I realized the convertible didn't have a driver.

Instinct warned me of the giant robot's intent, and I raised my cannon-arm to fire.

A sphere of blue energy shot out and struck him in the face just as the convertible passed me in a blur of shifting metal.

I couldn't help being stunned as a massive metal cat pounced on an evil robot.

Something in my chest tightened when they collided, and the cat's roar shook me deeper than it should have.

"_**The human is under my protection! I will not allow you to harm her!**_"

I don't know why I could understand her; though it sounded like English, there was a mechanical whirring and chirping in the background that was not part of any Earth language.

"Keke!"

Sam's arm slammed into my torso, lifting me up as he practically carried me towards the exit at a run.

Jolted out of my confusion by the unwanted ride, I glared at the back of my brother's head.

"I can run, you know-!"

Then I was dropped and Sam was tackling Mikaela off her scooter.

I was extremely tired of falling on my ass.

"What is your problem, Sam?" Mikaela demanded, clearly upset and unaware of the giant robot death match behind us.

"Okay, there's a monster, it just attacked us!" Sam replied, trying to explain.

My heart tried to jump out of my chest when I saw the robot coming towards us, the metal cat nowhere in sight.

"Here it comes!" I warned, scrambling to my feet as Sam tugged Mikaela away from her fallen scooter.

That's when I realized my arm was still a cannon.

Facing the incoming robot, I hefted my arm up and willed it to fire.

It didn't.

There was no time for me to panic, or even consider running, at that point.

The robot was practically on top of me, and all I heard was the rumble of a car's engine over the rush of blood in my ears.

I'm pretty sure I was in shock when the convertible slammed into the back of the robot's legs and Bee rammed him from the side.

The ground shaking knocked me back to my senses.

Skidding to a halt in front of me, the passenger door of the convertible popped open.

"_**Get in!**_"

Not seeing any reason _not _to, I jumped in and buckled up just as we tore away after Bee.

It felt like my heart was trying to bust its way out of my chest, whether in excitement or unadulterated terror I wasn't sure.

"_**Relax, femmeling. I won't allow Barricade to harm you.**_"

Trying to slow my breathing, I gripped the seatbelt so tightly that my knuckles bleached.

"Who are you? How do you know his name? Where are we going-?"

"_**Give me time to answer, femmeling.**_"

It felt like a thread of calm was wrapping around my heart, and it was easier to breathe.

"_**My designation is Guardian. I know Barricade's name because your brother's guardian, Bumblebee, told me. I'm not sure where we're going, but it must be better than here.**_"

I had to agree with that last part, and turned my head to see Barricade still chasing after us.

"Could you go a _tiny_ bit faster, then? I don't want to know if he has guns right now."

"_**No problem.**_"

With a rev of her engine, Guardian was going nearly sixty miles per hour and was soon level with Bumblebee.

Unfortunately, they were heading straight for the massive window of a dilapidated warehouse.

"Oh crap, oh crap, _oh crap_-!"

Curling over my lap, I shielded my head and neck as we busted through the flimsy glass.

I didn't even have a chance to regain my senses before Guardian was off again, skidding around a corner and nearly throwing me into the driver's seat.

The seatbelt tightened over my chest, reeling me back in, as Guardian turned sharply past a barbwire fence and split off from Bumblebee.

I hadn't realized how late it had gotten until the convertible had reversed gently into a shadow made by a run-down building.

My cannon-arm was giving off a visible blue glow once the headlights turned off, and I tried to stifle it as the rumble of an engine rose out of the dark.

The metal pressed against my stomach started heating up as Barricade's dark form rolled past, only a few yards from Guardian's front bumper.

Beyond that, though, I was strangely calm.

It was like that thread of calm had made itself into a blanket and smothered any panic I could have mustered.

The moment there was a clear path behind him, Guardian thundered to life and flew past like a rocket.

I couldn't help a startled scream when the seatbelt whipped off and I was sent tumbling into the dirt.

I would have gotten up alright, if Sam hadn't landed on top of me right after…

"…_Ow_…"

"Keke! Are you alright?"

"Not with you on top of me." I grumbled, shoving Sam's face so he toppled off of my torso.

Whatever light we had was blocked out as Guardian and Bumblebee transformed, facing the police cruiser speeding straight for us.

The metal of my cannon-arm felt like the engine of a racecar straight off the track.

With an earth-shaking roar, Guardian tackled Barricade out of the air to keep him from slamming into Bumblebee mid-transformation.

Unfortunately, we had more urgent problems…

Sam's shriek made my ears ring as a small robotic creature grabbed his leg, chattering away too fast for me to follow.

I swung my cannon-arm at the robot's head, knocking it off so Sam could get up and make a run for it.

The robot chattered at me, looking upset, and I glared back.

"Try it. We'll see how you look once I'm done with you."

My cannon-arm whirred to life to back up my threat, and the robot seemed wary now, chattering even faster than before.

And then he bolted.

I scrambled to my feet after him, though the gravel made it difficult to stand, and lifted my cannon-arm again.

Three rapid-fire shots flew out without me even thinking about it, though they only grazed the robot's sides as he latched onto Sam's pant's leg.

Unfortunately, I was blessed with the sight of my brother in his underwear before I managed to smack the little devil-bot off.

He attached to my arm instead, and I was bashing him against the ground when Mikaela ran up with a hand-saw.

Luckily, the metal of my arm was strong enough not to get cut open while Mikaela hacked the little robot to pieces.

Sam (still pant-less, I might add) came up as the devil-bot's head landed on the gravel.

"Not so tough without a head, are ya?"

He then punted said head, looking extremely proud of himself.

"…Not that the whole screaming like a little girl and kicking a robot's head weren't cool, but would you mind putting your pants back on?"

Turning away as he sputtered, searching for his pants, I looked up as Guardian and Bumblebee crested the hill above us.

"What are they?" Mikaela whispered, most likely intimidated by the robots' large size.

"It's a robot. You know, like a super-advanced robot. It's probably Japanese. Yeah, it's definitely Japanese."

I didn't believe that for a second; sure, the Japanese were more advanced than anyone else when it came to robotics, but they were nowhere near making anything like Bumblebee or Guardian.

I would know, considering I often hacked foreign systems to look for more advanced pieces for my computer.

I hadn't realized I was moving closer until Mikaela's panicked voice made me and Sam pause.

"What are you two doing?"

"They don't want to hurt us." I replied, eyes fixed on their faces.

"They wouldn't have protected us if they wanted us dead."

"Yeah. If they wanted to hurt us, they would have done it already." Sam agreed.

Weird…

That was the first time we had agreed on anything (besides getting Bee) since we were kids.

"Really? Well, do you speak robot? Because they just had, like, a giant droid death match!"

Ignoring Mikaela's doubts, I stopped at the top of that incline, giving Sam time to catch up.

"Can you talk?" Sam asked, looking towards Bumblebee.

"_XM Satellite One…Digital Cable brings you…Columbia Broadcasting System…_"

"You talk through the radio." I deduced, smiling.

"_Thank you, you're beautiful! You're wonderful, you're wonderful._" Came from his radio as Bumblebee clapped.

"What was that last night? What was that?" Sam pressed.

"_Message from Starfleet, Captain…Throughout the inanimate vastness of space…And angels will rain down like visitors from Heaven! Hallelujah!_"

"Visitors from heaven…So you guys are aliens?" Mikaela voiced, coming up to join us.

Bumblebee only nodded before converting back to his car mode, and Guardian stretched out before doing the same.

"_Anymore questions you want to ask?_" The radio asked as both cars opened their doors.

I didn't hesitate for a second in going towards the blue and red convertible, or Sam towards the Camaro; it was Mikaela that was still unsure.

"They want us to get in." Sam told her.

"And go where?"

"…Fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to be able to say you had the guts to get in the car?"

I was already sitting in Guardian by then, cradling my cannon-arm.

"What am I?" I whispered, staring as it slowly shifted back to normal…


	6. Chapter 6

For the most part, I couldn't think of anything beyond 'Oh my God, my arm turns into a cannon'.

Any questions I could have asked were kinda trivial compared to my arm _turning into a goddamn cannon_, so forgive me for going into shock.

"_**Are you alright, femmeling? You've been oddly quiet.**_"

Guardian's voice coming from the radio helped me back to reality, though I still had some trouble getting my voice to work.

"Sorry, I'm just…thinking."

"_**About what, exactly?**_"

"It's just…I don't know what I am anymore."

The words came tumbling out now, and I couldn't stop them if I tried.

"I always knew I was different, but I never thought I was _this _different, which means everyone was right, I _am_ a freak, and-!"

"_**Femmeling.**_"

The sudden break in my rant was welcome; now that the flood of emotion was stifled, I was able to keep tears from building up in my eyes.

"_**I have been watching you for as long as I have functioned, and I have never known a more ingenious, a more courageous, a more caring human being. If that makes you a 'freak', then I do not care to know what being 'normal' is.**_"

For some reason I couldn't explain, those words comforted me, like when I would go into Sam's room after a nightmare all those years ago and my fears suddenly seemed so far away.

"…Thanks."

Her engine gave an almost comforting purr as the seatbelt tightened over me in place of a hug.

"_**There is no need to thank me. Anytime you need help, I am more than happy to provide it.**_"

I couldn't help feeling strangely content, as if the emotion was created in a foreign place and being placed inside of me without my realizing it.

Pulling my legs up, I curled up on the seat and yawned, exhaustion catching up with me after a long day of evading alien robots.

I was just about to start napping…

Guardian swerved suddenly, jolting me fully awake, as Bumblebee suddenly stopped in the middle of a tunnel.

Sam and Mikaela were unceremoniously ejected before the Camaro took a U-turn and sped off.

I could only blink at them as Guardian slowed to a halt.

"_Jeez_, what did you guys _do_?"

"I didn't do anything! Mikaela insulted him, and now four-thousand dollars just drove off!" Sam ranted, clearly frazzled.

Guardian's frame shook in what seemed like laughter, and I turned around to see what was so amusing to her.

My jaw practically dropped off.

Coming towards us was a shiny new Chevy Camaro.

Bumblebee slid to a stop in front of Sam and Mikaela, opening his door, and Guardian's engine rumbled in reply to the upset drivers passing by.

Once Bee had pulled ahead, Guardian followed at a sedate pace, rolling along so smoothly that I was lulled into a half-dazed trance.

With the adrenaline gone from that sudden stop, I was ready for sleep…

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Femmeling. We're here.<strong>_"

Half-awake, I sat up and yawned, grumbling as the seat prodded my back.

"I'm up, I'm up…" I mumbled, rubbing sleep out of my eyes as the seatbelt clicked off.

Pulling myself out with a groan, I took in the large, dank alley we had stopped in.

"Yeah, _this_ looks welcoming…" I grouched, rubbing kinks out of my spine as Sam and Mikaela stepped out of Bee.

Headlights cut through the darkness ahead of us like miniature suns, and I turned to face the new arrivals as Guardian closed her door.

A Peterbilt 379 semi rolled out of the gloom first, bright red flames extending back from the grill over the blue paint, followed by a silver Pontiac Solstice, a black GMC Topkick, and a Search and Rescue Hummer.

Looking over the four impressive vehicles, I couldn't help smiling, patting Bee's hood.

"Good thing you got that make-over on the way here, huh?"

The static from his radio sounded almost like laughter.

With a whirr of agitated gears and shifting panels of metal, the six vehicles transformed.

I was kinda expecting it; what I _wasn't_ expecting was how _big_ these robots were compared to Bee and Guardian.

The tallest crouched down to our level, deep voice making my insides quiver like I was front-row at a death-metal concert.

"Are you Samuel James Witwicky and Keara Arima Witwicky, descendents of Archibald Witwicky?"

"They know your names…" Mikaela whispered, sounding shocked.

_Yeah_, we had kinda noticed…

"That's us." I answered respectfully.

There was something about him that commanded respect instead of demanding, and I couldn't help but do that.

"My name is Optimus Prime. We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"But you can call us 'Autobots' for short." A shorter, lime-colored robot added as Optimus stood.

"Certainly less of a mouthful than Autonomous Robotic Organisms." I agreed, reining in a smile.

Sam glared at me, probably worried that I would somehow insult the giant aliens, but I ignored him.

I had no reason to treat them like I did Sam, after all.

"What's crackin', little bitches?"

The silver robot proceeded to do a somersault, and I couldn't help staring in wonder.

Have you ever seen a giant robot do a somersault?

It is _awesome_.

"My first lieutenant. Designation: Jazz." Optimus introduced.

"This looks like a cool place to kick it!"

Jazz then dropped onto a nearby car like it was a couch, and I couldn't help chuckling.

"Didn't think aliens could be gangster, but I guess I have to be wrong at least once."

"Keke!" Sam warned, but I just waved him off.

"Where did he learn to talk like that? I doubt you guys mingled with any of the locals."

"We learned Earth's languages through the World Wide Web." Optimus explained.

Huh…

Guess you _can_ find anything on the Internet…

"Our medical officer: Ratchet."

The lime robot seemed to sniff the air, and it reminded me of a bloodhound.

"The boy's pheromone levels suggests he wants to mate with the female."

…

I promptly fell over in hysterical laughter after that.

"It's official, you're my new friend." I managed through my giggles, hugging my sides in an effort to subdue my own amusement.

"Why are all your friends people who have embarrassed me?" Sam demanded, looking too red to be healthy.

"It's no fun to have friends that don't share some of my interests." I retorted, still grinning.

Once I had managed to get control of myself, the introductions continued.

"My weapons specialist: Ironhide."

The cannons sitting on the black robot's forearms whirred to life, glowing like mine had just before it had fired.

"You feelin' lucky, punk?"

"Easy, Ironhide…" Optimus warned.

"Just kidding. I just wanted to show them my cannons…" Ironhide replied, powering down his weapons.

Looking towards Sam's petrified face and back at the heavily-built robot, I couldn't help smiling.

"I can already tell I'm going to _love _you guys."

"You already know your guardian: Bumblebee."

The yellow Camaro-bot clicked happily, mimicking a boxer as his radio came to life.

"_Check on the rep, yep…Second to none!…_"

Guardian's engine rumbled behind me in a laugh, catching Optimus' attention.

"_**I don't believe we've been introduced, femmeling.**_"

"_**My designation is Guardian. I was created by the AllSpark to protect Keara Witwicky.**_"

Optimus' optics brightened, almost like he was surprised.

"_**I will do my best to help in that endeavor.**_"

I was distracted from the conversation by Mikaela, who was overcoming her shock.

"Why are you here?"

"We are here looking for the AllSpark. And we must find it before Megatron."

That name sent a chill down my spine, though I couldn't say why, and Guardian seemed to purr as she settled down beside me.

"Mega-what?" Sam replied, eloquent as always (don't miss the sarcasm here; Sam's about as eloquent as a three-year-old).

A hologram took up the alley from the tall Autobot's optics as he began explaining.

"Our planet was once a powerful empire, peaceful and just, until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars. Megatron followed it to Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him…"

"Our great-great-grandfather." I realized.

Guess he really _wasn't_ crazy…

My bad.

"It was an accident that intertwined our fates. Megatron crash-landed before he could retrieve the Cube. He accidentally activated his navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were imprinted on his glasses."

"How did you know about the glasses?" I wondered, already glaring at Sam.

"EBay."

Sam flinched away from me as I turned to glare at him full-on.

"Samuel James Witwicky, you tried to pawn our dead relatives belongings? On _eBay_?"

I was already yelling before he could try and answer me.

"Do you know how easy it is to hack eBay? I did it when I was five, Sam! _Five_! Which means any idiot with a keyboard can too, _dumbass_!"

I would have continued (I had warned Sam plenty of times not to put personal information on the Internet), but Guardian nudged my back with a purr as that calm feeling returned, tinged with amusement.

Despite his amusement and curiosity, Ratchet got the conversation back on track.

"If the Decepticons find the All Spark, they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army."

"And the human race will be extinguished. Sam Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival." Optimus finished.

…

"You'd better have those glasses."

* * *

><p>It was soon clear that Sam's continued good health would only be jeopardized if I was in Guardian.<p>

According to Ratchet, she was more likely to help me get into Bumblebee so I could pound Sam's face in.

God, I love her already…

So, instead of riding in my favorite convertible, I was taking a ride inside of Jazz.

It probably would have been awkward, but Jazz turned his radio up and blasted music the whole way.

I was dancing in the seat, singing along to 'Monster' by Lady Gaga, when we finally reached my house.

Grinning despite myself, I pat the door as the seatbelt unhooked itself.

"Thanks, Jazz. You're the best."

"_No problem, little lady._" Jazz assured through the radio, sounding amused.

"_It's the least I could do, since you're helping us._"

Nodding, I stepped out of the passenger seat and jogged to catch up with Sam, who was already running towards the backyard.

Making sure to use the path, unlike Sam, I reached the back door moments after he did.

He practically collapsed against the screen door, keeping it from opening, as I grabbed his arm and pretended to help him up.

"H-Hey, dad! How've you been?" Sam stuttered, faking a smile.

"Oh, I've been fine. Nice to know that you forgot about my path."

"Oh, I-I'm so sorry! Why don't I sweep the whole lawn? How does that sound?" Sam replied, flustered.

"You know, your mother wants me to ground you two."

"And that's why you're the best daddy ever." I replied, laying the cute on pretty thick.

"I didn't mean to be late, but I convinced Sam to help me look for a present for you and we lost track of time."

"A present?"

Diversion: successful.

"I wanted to get something nice for the yard, but I couldn't find anything nice enough."

Bringing the memory of Sunny back, I managed to make my eyes swell with tears and sniffled.

"I'm sorry, daddy…"

"It's alright, sweetheart." He cooed, opening the door so forcefully that Sam fell on his ass as dad hugged me.

"I'll let it slide this time, okay?"

"Th-Thanks, daddy…" I replied, inwardly triumphant as I hugged him back.

"I'll be inside with your mom when you're ready to come in."

Nodding, I rubbed at my eyes as dad went back inside.

"…You don't think that was a little much?"

Sam yelped as I kicked him in the knee.

"It worked, didn't it? So stop griping."

Blinking residual tears out of my eyes, I stepped into the house.

"I'm going to get some stuff from my room."

Closing the screen door behind me, I managed a subdued pace up the stairs before running down the hall.

Rifling through my closet for a fresh set of clothes, I grabbed my favorite pair of running shoes as I pushed the door closed with my foot.

Changing into a red tank top and baggy blue gym shorts, I tugged on my sneakers and kicked open the stuck drawer on my nightstand.

Inside was a cell phone I had modified into a mini-computer, and I immediately plugged it into a USB port on my PC.

With a beep, it started downloading everything off the motherboard and hard-drive.

Leaving the little device to its work, I clicked a belt around my waist and emptied the leather pouches of unnecessary things.

The belt was loose, hanging off my left hip, but I ignored it as the cell phone beeped in completion.

Unplugging the device from my computer, I shoved it into a pouch and turned on my heel to run down the hall.

Sam was already rummaging through the pig sty he called a room, muttering to himself, when I skidded to a stop at the door.

"How can you find _anything_ in here?" I demanded, stepping over some discarded potato chip bags.

"I'm doing just fine!" Sam retorted, half-buried in a pile of clothes.

"_Yeah_, you have this _whole_ situation under control." I replied sarcastically, scanning the metal shelves for our great-great-grandfather's glasses.

"If you have nothing constructive to say, shut up and look!"

I tossed a small LEGO model at his head, pretending to search as it bounced off his head.

"_OW_!"

I couldn't help smiling as I dug through his things, feeling around with my fingertips.

I heard Sam jump and nearly stumble over some empty soda cans as I pushed aside the junk he called collectibles, and sighed.

Looking over my shoulder, I saw Mikaela climbing in through a window.

"They _really_ want those glasses."

Guess they do…

Something crunched, and I was already rubbing my temples as a headache formed.

You'd think sentient robots would be more aware of their surroundings…

"Okay, listen. You gotta listen to me! If my parents come out here and see you, they're going to freak. My mother's got a temper."

"Is that really our biggest concern right now?" I voiced, annoyed.

"Mom can kill us _after_ we've ensured the safety of Earth."

Sam didn't like that idea very much, but Optimus seemed to be on my side, and Autobot Commander trumps fear of mothers.

…

But only by a little.

"Autobots, fall back." Optimus ordered, sounding a bit impatient.

I was going through Sam's dresser, which was right next to a window, when I heard the crash and the sizzle of electricity.

Catching my balance, I stuck my head out of the window and stared at the sight in our neighbor's yard.

Ratchet had apparently tripped into the power lines and fallen on his back, looking a lot like a drugged-out hippie.

"Wow... that was tingly! You gotta try that!"

"Yeah, that looks fun…" Ironhide answered sarcastically, helping the medic back onto his feet.

Hearing footsteps on the stairs, I rushed out of Sam's room and into my own, closing the door.

It was common knowledge that I hated being in Sam's room without a reason, and now was _not_ the time to make our parents suspicious.

Catching my breath, I took a moment to glare at my room.

Ratchet's fall had knocked one of my shelves loose, and now all of my game prototypes were scattered on the floor.

And then the lights went out.

Damn Autobot medics and their balance issues…

Someone knocked frantically on my door, and I pretended to look frazzled as I opened it.

"Wh-What happened?"

"There was an earthquake. Where's your brother?" Dad demanded, looking a bit ruffled.

"He went to his room, last time I saw him…" I admitted, growing worried as both dad and mom marched down the hall towards Sam's room.

Seeing a bright light (too bright to be man-made) flash under the doorway, I knew there was trouble.

"Maybe he took a nap and didn't notice!" I voiced, jogging after them.

"You know what a deep sleeper he is!"

Yep, mom and dad were ignoring me again…

And what made it worse was that dad had a bat, counting down from five.

"5... 4... It's comin' off the hinges, pal. 3... 2... stand back!"

The door opened at that moment, and I let out a relieved breath.

"What's up?... What's with the bat?"

"Who were you talking to?" Dad retorted, looking suspicious.

"Talkin' to you!"

"Why are you so sweaty and filthy?" Mom wondered.

"I'm a child. Ya know, I'm a teenager."

Mom barged in without a second thought (our parents don't quite know the meaning of the word 'privacy'), dad and me not far behind.

"Oh, for Pete's sakes! You are so defensive! Were you... Masturbating?"

…

I think my ears started bleeding.

"Judy…"

"Was I master... No, Mom!"

"Zip it, okay?"

"It's okay…"

"No, I don't masturbate!"

"That's not something for you to bring up."

"Okay."

"That's a father-and-son thing, okay?"

"Father-son thing…"

"I mean, you don't have to call it that word if that makes you uncomfortable... you can call it Sam's happy time or…"

I'm pretty sure that was the moment when the mental scarring _really_ kicked in.

"Happy time?"

"...my special alone time…"

"Judy, stop!"

"...with myself."

"Mom, you can't come in and…"

"I'm sorry. It's just been a weird night. I've had a little bit to drink."

A little, mom?

More like an entire bottle of wine.

"Sam, we heard you talking to someone…"

"Mom, I…"

Everyone went silent as Mikaela stood up from her hiding place.

Oh dear…

"Hi, I'm Mikaela. I'm a... I'm a friend of Sam's."

Mom started giggling like a schoolgirl, punching Sam playfully on the arm.

"Gosh, you're gorgeous! Isn't that the prettiest girl?"

"She can hear you talking, Mom." Sam mumbled, deeply embarrassed.

Now you know why I'm never bringing potential boyfriends to meet my parents.

I was so distracted by the mortification that is my mother by my dad sticking his head out of the window.

I nearly had a heart attack.

"Oh, no... look at the yard! The yard is destroyed! There's sparks flying all over the place... Judy, you better call the City, looks like they got a blown transformer! What a waste... Trashed! Gone!"

I was just relieved he didn't see the giant alien robots that destroyed the yard…

"Oh, mom?" I voiced, distracting her from Mikaela.

"Do you know where Sam's backpack is? He put my book in there by mistake."

"He left it in the kitchen, dear."

I resisted the twitch in my right eye as mom kissed me on the forehead.

The urge to kill Sam was harder to resist.

Grabbing him by the shirt (and giving him a Purple Nurple while I was at it), I dragged Sam down the stairs.

Mikaela joined us in the kitchen, after I had whisper-yelled at Sam and attempted to put my foot up his ass.

Sam dug through his bag with new urgency, and I couldn't help being relieved when he pulled the glasses out.

Just as all my worries faded away…

The doorbell rang.


	7. Chapter 7

Have you ever had a moment where you know everything's about to go downhill?

That one moment where you just_ know_ things are about to get ten times worse?

I got the feeling that, once the doorbell rang, one of those moments just ran me over like a herd of elephants.

Swiping the glasses from Sam, I stuffed them into one of the pouches and jogged into the front room.

Dad had already answered the door, and a bunch of men in black suits were coming in.

"How are ya doing, kids?" One of them voiced, sounding too happy to be sincere.

"Why don't you kids come with me?"

"I don't think so!" Dad shouted, getting between us three and the agent as if that would stop him.

"You're not taking my kids."

"Really? You gonna get rough with us?"

"No, but I'm gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here."

"Yeah. There's something a little fishy about you, your kids, your little Taco Bell dog and this whole operation you got going on here."

"What operation?" Dad retorted.

"That is what we are gonna find out."

Another agent walked up to our current antagonist, whispering something to him while holding up what looked like a radiation detector.

Looking surprised, he took the device and stepped forward.

"You two, step forward."

I didn't really see the harm in it (I could probably bust him up pretty good if he tried anything), and squeezed around dad with Sam.

The detector-thing went _nuts_, and he hadn't even held it up to us yet.

"Bag 'em and tag 'em!" He ordered, and chaos ensued.

I couldn't tell who exactly handcuffed me and dragged me outside, but hurting them wouldn't have changed our situation.

Squeezed in the back of a car between Sam and Mikaela, I felt a foreign panic and looked out of the back window.

Guardian's bright eyes were visible as she peered around the corner of a house, the panels along her back rising like a hissing cat's fur.

But the car was already pulling away, too fast for me to even think of communicating with her.

Frustrated and growing increasingly angry (though I couldn't tell which one was mine, or even if either of them were), I glared at the back of the agents' heads until the annoying one decided to start talking.

"So…Ladiesman217. That is your eBay username, is it not?"

I turned my glare on Sam.

"_Really_? Ladiesman217? That was the best you could do, Sam?"

"It was a typo, and I ran with it!" He defended.

"Does this sound familiar?"

He held up Sam's phone, and I wanted to face-palm as his terrified voice came from the shitty speakers.

"Yeah, that sounds like Ladiesman." Mikaela answered, looking mildly amused.

"Last night at the station, you told the officer your car transformed. Enlighten me."

"Well, here's what I said, okay? 'Cause this is a total misunderstanding that my car had been stolen…"

"Really?"

"...from me, from my home, but it's fine now because it's back! It came back!"

"Well, not by itself." Mikaela interjected hurriedly.

"Well, no." Sam agreed, realizing his mistake.

"Because cars don't do that because that would be crazy."

They all burst into laughter, and I just stared at them like they were insane (which wasn't that absurd of a guess) when the agent abruptly stopped.

"What do you kids know about aliens?"

At least no one was doing that creepy laugh anymore…

"Like Star Wars?" I scoffed.

"They're just stories."

Probably losing his temper (I have never met anyone with a shorter temper), he pulled out a badge and shoved it in our faces.

"You see this?"

It's kinda hard not to…

"This is a 'Do whatever I want and get away with it' badge!"

…

Well, at least I knew what to write on the man's tombstone.

"I'm gonna lock you up forever!"

"Oh God, you know what? Don't listen to him. He's just pissy because he has to get back to guarding the mall." Mikaela retorted.

"You, in the training bra? Do not test me. Especially not with your dad's parole hearing coming up."

"Parole?" Sam parroted, sounding stunned.

"It's nothing." She insisted.

"Grand theft auto. That ain't nothing." Simmons informed.

"Remember those cars my dad used to teach me to fix? Well, they weren't always his." Mikaela admitted.

That was enough for me; I had grown to like Mikaela, and finding out she had a record didn't bother me that much.

But it seemed to bother Sam, so I elbowed him in the ribs to shut him up.

"I've had just about enough of you, Simmons." I stated calmly, keeping my temper in check.

"So if you don't want to get hurt, you'll let us go."

Sam flinched away from me when Simmons started laughing.

"What are you gonna do, little girl? Yell at me?"

"Look at me." I growled, waiting until the agent met my eyes.

"Look at me and tell me I won't hurt you."

Simmons paused, and something like fear crossed his face just before we crashed.

My knuckles turned white as I gripped the seats for balance, closing my eyes as the car screeched to a stop.

Glass shattered around me, and I curled into myself as we were lifted off the ground, metal screeching in protest.

Soon, the car couldn't take the strain and separated itself from its own roof.

I waited until everything had settled before opening my eyes, feeling completely safe at the sight of Optimus Prime looming over us.

"You A-holes are in trouble now. Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my friend, Optimus Prime." Sam voiced, pleased.

"Taking the children was a bad move! Autobots, relieve them of their weapons!"

Guardian dropped down from the bridge we had driven under, hissing at the agents as Jazz's hand turned into a magnet.

Once all of their guns were gone, Optimus leaned down to human level.

"Hi, there." Simmons greeted meekly.

"You don't seem afraid. Are you not surprised to see us?"

"Look, there are certain rules I have to abide by. I'm not authorized to communicate with you except... to say I can't communicate with you…"

"Get out of the car." The Prime ordered.

"Right. Uh, me? You want me to...?"

"_Now_!"

Swinging myself calmly out of what was left of the car, I paused when Mikaela took hold of my wrist, unlocking the cuffs.

"Thanks." I stated sincerely, smiling.

Rubbing my wrists as she went to free Sam, I turned to rejoin Guardian, who was purring like a lonely housecat.

She nuzzled into my torso, the rumble of her engine thrumming through my bones, and I hugged her as best I could.

"I missed you, too." I admitted, running my hands over the mobile plates of her cheeks.

Lifting her head, with my clinging to her nose, Guardian walked over to the subdued agents, the plates rippling along her back in a warning.

Once back on my feet, I turned as Sam and Mikaela bombarded Simmons with questions.

"What is Sector 7? Answer me!"

"I ask the questions round here, not you, young man!"

"All right, how did you know about the aliens?"

"Where did you take my parents?"

"I am not at liberty to discuss…"

Sam reached into the agent's suit pocket, ignoring the protests.

"Hey, you touch me, that's a federal offense!"

"'Do whatever you want and get away with it' badge, right?"

"Brave now, all of a sudden with his big alien friends standing over there."

I joined Sam and Mikaela in handcuffing the agents together, Guardian watching closely to be sure none of them tried anything.

Seeing Simmons start under dressing, I turned away; enough mental scarring had been done for one night, _thank you very much_.

I turned back at the sound of handcuffs being secured, and scoffed at the 'S7' Superman logo.

_Boys_…

Simmons flinched as I walked up, Guardian growling a warning behind me.

"I don't care who told you to illegally kidnap us-,"

He seemed ready to protest, but my glare silenced him.

"But they're going to regret it just as much as you're about to."

"What, you going to sick your housecat on me?" He retorted, purposely keeping his eyes away from Guardian's menacing fangs.

"That would be giving you an easy out." I replied, smiling.

"She doesn't like the taste of bullshit."

Guardian shifted behind me, and she picked me up by the back of my tank top without warning.

I was about to ask why when I saw Bumblebee pop off what looked like an oil cap and…

I stifled my laughter at seeing the Camaro-bot _pee_ all over Simmons, Guardian setting me down as she gave a static-filled chuckle.

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating on the man!" Optimus ordered, sounding amused despite himself.

We didn't have long to enjoy the moment, however…

"Optimus, incoming!" Ironhide warned, firing one of his cannons into the ground.

The resulting shockwave blew out the tires of incoming black cars, and Guardians roar startled me into action.

Sam and Mikaela were already scrambling onto Optimus' hand, and I leapt onto the other before he lifted us up.

The moment I touched the metal of his torso, I felt a surge of energy flood my body and swayed dangerously.

Catching my balance on his thumb, I tried to shake the ringing out of my head before scrambling onto his shoulders.

There were plenty of metal plates to hold onto, and I gripped one for dear life as the massive Autobot started running.

I should have been petrified, being thirty feet off the ground, but I felt strangely safe, like nothing could hurt me…

Pressing into the warm metal, I wondered where Guardian had gone as a jolt of apprehension entered my heart.

Helicopters closed in on us, the searchlights passing just behind Optimus' heels, as the Autobot raced through a half-deserted street and down an alley.

This led to an empty ravine, with a bridge a bit further down that Optimus immediately aimed for.

With a grace I hadn't expected, he swung himself up into the criss-cross of iron supports.

Hidden from view, I curled up instinctively as the helicopters passed below us.

The blades looked dangerous from this angle, and I knew falling would mean being turned into mincemeat before splattering on the concrete.

Just as that thought entered my mind, Mikaela fell.

My heart practically leapt out of my chest as she screamed, holding onto Sam's arm in an attempt to keep away from death.

Then Sam slipped.

"NO!"

I don't know why I jumped.

Maybe it was the terror on Sam's face, or the adrenaline in my blood.

All I knew was that one of those dormant instincts had kicked in and I was falling.

Pain tore through my back like hot knives, and I was blinded by the agony as the metal settled.

My back had just opened up and made a jetpack.

It roared to life, slowing my descent as I grabbed onto Sam and Mikaela.

The jetpack likely would have held up my own weight with ease, but the added load of two nearly-grown teenagers was too much.

No matter how much it tried, we were still falling.

I was getting ready to die when…

"_**KEARA!**_"

Metal shrieked as Guardian caught me in her soft mouth, careful of my still-tender back as she skidded on the concrete.

Bumblebee stopped on his stomach a few yards to our right, holding Sam and Mikaela aloft with both hands, and I had never felt so relieved.

The helicopters started circling then, and Guardian put me down as the jetpack slid back into hiding under my skin.

Crouching over me, she growled at them, the panels along her body shifting in order to cover her delicate inner circuits.

A harpoon was fired, and a tangle of wires wrapped around Bumblebee's wrist, pulling him off-balance.

I cried out as another batch of wires caught Guardian's forepaws, whipping across my face painfully.

Falling back as the cat-bot reared up in outrage, roaring and bearing her fangs at the perpetrators, I touched my stinging cheek for cuts.

Nothing.

Panic was starting to set in, both mine and Guardians, when her hind legs were bound together.

Landing heavily on her side, she thrashed and keened in an attempt to free herself.

Feeling the ground quake after she fell, I ran to Guardian's side, putting my hands on her cheeks.

"It's gonna be okay, G." I promised, voice as steady as I could make it while I was having a panic attack.

"It's gonna be okay, I promise. It's gonna be okay."

Hearing sirens, I looked over my shoulder as the army of black cars entered the scene.

My grip on Guardian tightened as men came closer, some brandishing guns and others strange hoses.

When I heard Bumblebee's shrieks of agony, I knew what they wanted to do.

"Don't you _dare_." I growled, feeling my right arm start tingling.

Guardian howled in agony, and it tore my heart open like it was my own.

Spotting the person foolish enough to hurt my friend, I leapt on him in a fury.

Even in a rage, I never forgot how to fight; always stay on your feet, and never tackle someone to the ground except as a last resort.

Remembering this, I punched the man across the face, bringing my knee up into his stomach before flipping him onto his back.

Guardian's thrashing got worse, and the keening sound she was making rose in pitch as more men attempted to blast her with this freezing gas.

I took down five more of them, plus a handful of armed officers, before they overpowered me.

I still kicked as they hefted me to my feet, arms restrained behind me, leading me towards the SUVs.

A scowl twisted my face as Simmons smirked down at me.

"How's your housecat doing, alien girl?"

My rage was more blinding than my pain had been, and the next thing I knew, I was being shoved into an SUV beside Sam as Simmons cradled a broken nose.

Staring out the windshield as Guardian gave up her struggles with a whine, I felt my heart break.

Tears ran down my cheeks, and I choked on a sob as I curled my legs in, feeling helpless.

Whatever connected me to Guardian felt cold, and I desperately pushed against it with everything I had.

Then warmth spread through me from a different source, care tinged with sadness, and I grasped onto it to keep from being swallowed by my guilt.

The feeling wrapped around my heart like a blanket, and I leaned into Sam for comfort as it soothed me to sleep…


	8. Chapter 8

It wasn't until I had woken up that I realized the glasses were no longer on my belt.

The pouch had been torn open, probably by one of Guardian's fangs, and the hole was large enough for the glasses to slip through.

I could only hope that the Autobots found them…

The helicopter started its descent with a jolt, and I looked outside to see we had landed on the Hoover Dam.

I didn't really care why they had taken us there, to be honest.

I was more concerned about Guardian and Bumblebee; we hadn't seen or heard about them since we were all captured, and I didn't want to think about all of the things Sector Seven could be doing to them.

A hand on my shoulder pulled me fully into the present, and I looked up at Sam's worried face.

"Time to get off, Keke."

Pulling off the cumbersome headset, I slid out of the helicopter without bothering to reply.

I was fairly certain that if I opened my mouth, I would either start crying or start punching people in the face.

Seeing Simmons walk up, I was fully prepared to do the latter again.

"Hey, kids. Look, I think we got off to a bad start-."

My glare could have probably made the Devil himself piss in his pants, since Simmons hesitated in putting a hand on my shoulder like he had Sam.

"You want anything? A Ho-Ho? A mocha latte?"

"Where's my car?" Sam demanded.

"Where's my cat?" I growled.

"Kids, listen to me very carefully. People could die here. We need to know everything you know, and we need to know it right now."

My glare turned on this new agent, but my voice was calmer than even I expected.

"Fine. But first, we'll be taking his car, my friend, our parents-maybe you should be writing this down."

"And Mikaela's juvie record? That's gotta be gone. Like, _forever_." Sam added.

"And I wouldn't mind a couple boxes of Oreos. Getting kidnapped by a non-existent government group makes me hungry."

The other agent, whose nametag read _Banachek_, seemed to consider our proposal.

"Come with me. We'll talk about your car, and your friend."

Happy that we were getting somewhere, I smirked at Simmons, making sure to 'accidentally' stomp on his foot as I brushed past.

"The girl's an extortionist." He muttered, clutching the injured foot.

Yeah, I get that a lot.

We were soon joined by a group of soldiers before Simmons led us towards the main entrance.

"All right, you've all had direct contact with the NBEs…"

"NBEs?" One of the soldiers wondered.

"Non-Biological Extraterrestrials. Try to keep up with the acronyms."

Once inside the damp structure, I was given my boxes of Oreos.

The service in Sector Seven could be pretty nice after all…

Ripping open one of them with ease while cradling the other underneath my arm, I looked towards the soldier on my left.

He reminded me of someone, someone I trusted, though I couldn't consciously remember who…

"You want some?"

I couldn't help smiling a little at his surprised, confused expression as I shook the box.

"It's not like I'm gonna eat all of them. Come on, help yourself."

With an amused tilt to his mouth, he picked out two Oreos from the far left row.

"Dude, are those Oreos?"

Another soldier eagerly butted in to swipe a few for himself, laughing even as his friend elbowed him in the ribs.

I liked them, though I didn't know why at first; I tend to have issues with trusting other human beings (Guardian was practically a part of me, and I loved Bumblebee from the start, and I didn't have any trouble trusting the other Autobots).

"I'm William Lennox-."

The first soldier was shoved away playfully, and his friend shook my hand.

"And I'm Robert Epps, miss…?"

I couldn't help smiling, though I still felt a touch of frost in my chest.

"Keke. Keke Witwicky."

"Nice to meet you, Keke." Lennox stated, pulling Epps away before he could swipe more Oreos.

"What are you in here for?" Epps wondered, gesturing to the damp hallways surrounding us.

"My brother's car turned out to be an alien robot, and another alien robot made herself my personal bodyguard."

I shrugged at their surprised expressions, smile widening.

"Who knew?"

"And here I thought all the giant robots wanted to kill us." Epps said after a moment, putting an arm around my shoulders and pulling me into his side, between him and Lennox.

"Hope that staying next to you means we get a giant robot bodyguard, too."

Before I could say anything in reply (though I was fairly sure that Guardian would do just that), we had reached a massive metal door.

It seemed to be taller than Optimus, and that unnerved me for a reason I couldn't quite name.

"What you're about to see is totally classified…" Simmons warned just as they opened, and my heart stopped.

It was Megatron.

Something inside of me screamed to run, like prey once it spots the predator, and adrenaline hit my blood like lava.

"Dear God... what is this?" The Secretary of Defense, Keller, voiced first.

"We think that when he made his approach over the North Pole our gravitation field screwed up his telemetry and crashed into the ice, probably a few thousand years ago. We shipped him here to this facility in 1934." Banachek explained as we got closer to the frozen statue that was the Decepticon warlord.

"We call him NBE-1." Simmons added.

I snorted, covering it up with a yawn when he glared towards me.

Epps was snickering though, so I don't know if my innocent act worked…

"I don't mean to correct you on all that you think you know, but that's Megatron. He's the leader of the Decepticons." Sam informed.

"He's been in cryo-stasis since 1935. Your great-great-grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind."

Personally, Banachek, I'm not very happy about that…

"Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age. The microchip, lasers, cars, space flight: all reverse-engineered by studying him. NBE-1..."

I bristled as Simmons got into Sam's face.

"That's what we call _it_!"

Have you ever just wanted to hit someone?

Wanted nothing more than to wrap your hands around their throat and _squeeze_?

I hadn't felt like that until Simmons used the word 'it'.

Bumblebee and Guardian are not _its_.

"And you didn't think that the United States Military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement?" Keller snapped.

"Until these events we had no credible threats to national security." Banachek replied.

"Well, you got one now!"

"So why Earth?" Lennox asked.

"The AllSpark."

All eyes turned on me.

"AllSpark? What is that?" Keller wondered.

"It's a cube that has the power to create life out of machines. _Megatron_…"

I glared pointedly at Simmons.

"That what they call _him_, wants to use the AllSpark to transform Earth's technology, bring about the Apocalypse, and take over the universe."

"Are you sure?" Banachek stated after a moment.

"Would I have said anything if I wasn't?" I replied sharply, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"…You know where it is."

"…Follow me." The agent ordered, moving towards another door.

"You're about to see our crown jewel…"

Down another hallway we went, Sam looking back every now and then to make sure I was still in-between Lennox and Epps.

We had gone through one box of Oreos (after sharing with the rest of the unit), and had just started the other when we stepped into the room.

It was pretty small, about the size of me bedroom, with a window acting as the main wall.

Beyond that, in a room even bigger than Megatron's hanger, was a cube that would have made Optimus Prime look like a child in comparison.

"The First Seven came upon the Cube. We knew it was extraterrestrial because the symbols on its surface matched those on NBE-1. The Dam was built around it in 1935 to mask its signal. Four walls of concrete, as thick as four football fields, enable the Cube to avoid being detected by any humans, or any aliens from outside…"

Watching humans scramble around the Cube like ants, I shared a look with Sam.

How the hell were we going to get _that_ away from Megatron?

"You said that the Dam hides the Cube's energy…" Maggie voiced, curious.

"What kind exactly?"

"Glad you asked." Simmons replied, leading the group back out of the little viewing room.

We were led down a level to a metal-walled room with a heavy steel door.

"Quickly. They need to lock us in." Banachek warned.

Yeah, _that's_ comforting…

"What's that? Freddy Krueger been up in here or something?" Epps voiced, bringing my attention to the scarred sections of wall.

"Oh, no, man. Freddy Krueger have four blades, man. That's only three. That's Wolverine! Right? That's Wolverine!"

…

Oh, Glen…

"Alright, does anyone have a piece of technology? A camera, a phone?" Simmons demanded.

"I've got a phone." Glen offered, sufficiently chastised after his attempt at a joke.

"Ooh. Nokias are real nasty. You've gotta respect the Japanese. They know the way of the samurai…" Simmons replied, taking the cell phone and putting it inside a glass box in the center of the room.

"But Nokia aren't…"

Grumbling, I crossed my arms and slipped the bug-eye goggles on.

Why should I waste my breath on him?

"We're able to funnel the Cube's radiation into this box." Banachek explained as a strange needle-like appendage lowered from the top and zapped the phone with what looked like purple-blue electricity.

Something inside of my chest squeezed as the phone transformed.

I think I was the only one who could understand the little creature's shouts as he tried to bash his way out.

"_**What's going on? Let me out! I don't like it in here! I want my Creator! Let me out-Let me out-Let me out!**_"

My heart went out to him, though no one else seemed to feel the same.

"Hey there, little one." I cooed, and the small robot immediately stopped firing at the glass that was his prison.

"_**Cr-Creator?**_"

I didn't have the heart to say that he didn't have one, not really, and only nodded.

"That's right. If you calm down, I can take you out, okay?"

"_**Yes, yes! Please, just get me out!**_"

Simmons practically had a panic attack when I yanked the little door open.

"What are you doing? Are you-?"

I reached in and cupped my hand around the now-purring robot, who immediately latched onto my palm.

"See? No need to get all worked up." I soothed, cradling the once-cell phone against my chest.

"Keke…"

Looking up from the robot (whom I had already decided to name 'Sparky'), I took in everyone's stunned expressions.

"…What?"

"You never told me you could speak a freaky alien language!" Sam replied, freaking out.

"…Have you been doing drugs?" I retorted, frowning.

"I was speaking _English_, Sam. You know, the language commonly used in the United States?"

"That wasn't English! That was Robo-Speak!"

I would have denied it again, but everyone else seemed to agree with him…

That was when the entire Dam shook, the lights flickering ominously.

"Gentlemen, they know the Cube is here."

Well, _fuck_.

"The power in the NBE-1 hanger is out. The back-up generators aren't going to cut it." Banachek informed.

Lennox was already moving, shouting orders while leading the group out of the room.

Sparky climbed up to my shoulder, practically shaking against my neck as I ran after the others towards the arms' room.

Chaos had exploded all over the walls by then, with soldiers grabbing and loading weapons everywhere I turned.

Sam took a hold of my arms, looking into my eyes worriedly.

"What's going on, Keke?"

"…I don't know, Sam."

He must have seen in my eyes what I was feeling, confused and frightened and worried and angry, because he pulled me into a hug.

No one had hugged me since I was small, having nightmares of bright flashes and screaming metal…

But we had work to do.

"Sam."

I pulled back, gathering whatever courage I had left as I looked him in the eye.

"It's time to get our friends back."

Determined, I stalked towards Simmons, ignoring the heavy gun he was loading.

"I want my friends back."

"Your 'friends' confiscated."

"_Un_-confiscate them." I snarled, feeling Sparky bristle against my neck.

"I don't know what'll happen if I let them near the Cube!"

"So you just wanna sit on your ass and wait for Megatron to thaw?"

"Look, I have people's lives at stake here-!"

I was just as surprised as Simmons when Lennox grabbed him by the shirt, shoving him against a Jeep's hood.

"Take her to her friends!"

Suddenly, everyone was pointing guns at someone else, Lennox's men aiming at Sector Seven agents so he wasn't shot in the back.

"Drop your weapon, solider. There's an alien war going on and you're gonna shoot me?"

"You know, we didn't ask to be here." Lennox retorted sharply, his gun never wavering.

"I'm ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction-."

"S-Seven don't exist!" Epps shot back.

"Right, and we don't take orders from people that don't exist." Lennox agreed.

"I'm gonna count to five, okay…" Simmons started, growing nervous.

"Well, I'm gonna count to three."

There was a tense silence before Keller spoke up.

"Simmons?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I'd do what he says. Losing's really not an option for these guys."

The agent hesitated, but gave in.

"All right, okay! Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the girl's housecat? That's cool."

Clearly unhappy, Simmons led us down another large hallway.

I wasn't paying much attention as my connection to Guardian, which had slowly begun to thaw, pulsed with new awareness.

Reaching across, I could almost feel her…

_Pain_.

I was blindsided by it, and faltered as an ear-splitting roar echoed down the hall.

_Guardian_.

Fueled by terror and worry, I launched myself down the hallway, running faster than I ever had before.

Sparky chattered uneasily into my ear, too fast for my distracted brain to follow, as Sam and Mikaela shouted for me to slow down.

Slowing down was the last thing on my mind.

Our connection led me to another set of tall, heavy doors, though these opened up as I approached.

In my rage, I would have blasted them open if I had needed to.

The sight inside only made my temper boil over.

The closest was Bumblebee, strapped down to a massive metal slab, with machinery shocking him and humans trying to freeze him as he screeched.

My heart would have broken if it wasn't already shattered.

A few yards further off was Guardian, thrashing against her restraints and curling up to protect herself from the painful gas and probing machinery.

Sam had caught up by then, and his surprised shout snapped me back to reality.

"Stop! You gotta stop! Stop! Stop! Let him go! Let him go!"

I ran towards Guardian instead, shoving technicians out of my way until I reached her head.

"_**F-Femmeling?**_"

"It's me, G." I soothed, eyes burning with tears.

"I told you it was going to be okay, didn't I?"

"_**I never doubted you.**_" Guardian assured, managing to stand stiffly.

Spotting the Sector Seven agents, she immediately bristled, crouching over me and baring her fangs.

Bumblebee had reacted much the same way, activating his battle-mask and forming his right hand into a cannon.

"Guardian, don't!" I shouted, jumping up to cover her muzzle.

"They're my friends, G! Friends! They're not going to hurt us!"

Slowly relaxing, Guardian relaxed onto her stomach, allowing me to soothe her agitated plates and murmur into her ear.

"Listen to me, the Cube is here, and the Decepticons are coming...No, no, don't worry about them, they're ok, right, they're not gonna hurt you…" Sam rambled, trying to soothe Bumblebee.

"Just back up a little bit, he's friendly, he's fine…" He warned, seeing both aliens react towards the soldier's firearms.

"Ok, come on, put the guns down, they're not gonna hurt you. Come with me, we're gonna take you to the All Spark."

Bumblebee and Guardian shared a look before the Autobot scout powered down his cannon and flipped up his battle-mask.

"_**Get on, femmeling.**_"

Obliging, I climbed up onto Guardian's back just as she stood up, pressed against the back of her neck so I could peer over the cat-like head.

"Your alien robot bodyguard?" Epps teased warily as we headed back towards the Cube.

"How'd you guess?"

Smiling, I pat Guardian's ear.

"G, this is Robert Epps and William Lennox. They helped me save you."

They tried to protest as Guardian looked them over, her bright optics looking both surprised and pleased.

"I…thank you…both…for watching…my ward." She said slowly, the words rather awkward for her feline mouth.

"I am…in…your debt."

With a purr, she nudged both of them gently.

"Um…No problem?" Lennox replied, not expecting her to talk.

Bumblebee hadn't, couldn't, and he was far more humanoid.

"Guess you guys got that giant robot bodyguard after all." I noted, amused.

Engine rumbling in laughter, Guardian lifted her head as Bumblebee motioned us forward, into the hanger.

Plates shifting in excitement, the cat-bot leapt over the startled soldiers with ease, trotting up to the Cube as Sparky hid in my hair.

"_**Relax, sparkling.**_" Guardian cooed, reassuring him.

"_**The Cube brought you to being, as it did for me.**_"

Looking up at this mountain of alien glyphs and metal, I couldn't help being overwhelmed.

Bumblebee stepped past us, lifting his hands up until his fingers grazed the surface…

With a pulse of blue energy, the AllSpark began to fold in on itself like a complex Rubik's Cube.

Some residual energy shocked the scout's hands as the Cube settled into a much more travel-ready size, and the stunned silence finally eased.

"It is…time…to go." Guardian warned.

"She's right. We're screwed with Megatron in the next hanger." Lennox agreed.

"Mission City is twenty-two miles away. We'll take the Cube and hide it there."

Guardian nodded, crouching down to let me off so she could transform.

Over the whirring and clanking, the rest of the chaos was drowned out until she was a convertible once more.

Swinging into the passenger seat, I cradled Sparky to my chest as the seatbelt clicked into place, tightening around me in a hug.

The feeling that this wasn't going to go well didn't fade.


	9. Chapter 9

Sparky was going _nuts_ by the time we reached Mission City.

I wasn't much better, but I _also_ wasn't running all over the dashboard and yelling at the top of my lungs.

Careful of the sharp points on his armor, I scooped up the panicking little robot and held him to my chest.

Even though my heart was beating a little fast, he relaxed, chattering softly as Guardian relaxed on her shocks.

I heard the roar of a jet, and looked up to see a military plane fly overhead.

"Um…G?"

"_**Yes, femmeling?**_"

"Military jets aren't supposed to fly below buildings, right?"

Her entire frame seemed to tense under me.

"It's Starscream!" Ironhide warned, transforming in a flurry of metal.

"_**Femmeling, get out!**_"

Swinging over the door, I crouched down to shield Sparky's delicate little body as Guardian swiftly transformed.

Bumblebee was helping Ironhide lift up a van to use as a shield, and Guardian used her body to better shield all of us as Starscream doubled back.

"Back up! Back up!" Ironhide ordered.

"RETREAT! FALL BACK!" Lennox shouted.

"INCOMING!"

Even though the van and Guardian's sturdy frame took the brunt of the explosion, I was still sent flying, tumbling head-over-heels with Sparky screeching in fright.

Forcing myself to a stop, my ears rang and my vision swam as I sprawled across the cracked asphalt.

I didn't want to get back up…

"_**Creator! Creator, are you okay?**_"

My entire body throbbed as I was pulled back to reality, and I groaned.

"I've been better…Are you okay?"

"_**I'm still fully functional.**_"

…

I hoped that was robot for "I'm fine."

Sitting up, I lifted a hand to keep Sparky against my chest as I scanned the area.

Cars were overturned, chunks of concrete were blown out of place, and soldiers were running around, shouting to each other.

Pushing myself up, I waited for my Jell-O knees to stop wobbling before heading back towards the others.

"_**Are you truly alright, creator?**_" Sparky worried, climbing onto my shoulder.

"_**Your cloth covering is badly torn.**_"

I managed to look over my other shoulder to see what he was talking about, and my eyes widened.

My tank top was nearly ripped in half, with huge gaping holes held together by a few bare strands.

But…

I wasn't hurt.

"_**Keara!**_"

Looking up as Guardian bounded over, leaping over debris and soldiers, I forced down my own panic as she checked me for injuries.

"Where's Sam?" I worried, scanning the street again for a glimpse of my brother.

"…_**He is with Bumblebee.**_"

Her hesitation didn't help my panic.

"Where are they?"

Slowly, she turned and nodded her head to a mountain of rubble.

I ran towards it without a second thought, clambering over the sharp pieces of concrete until I was at the top.

I froze.

There was Bumblebee, dragging himself out of the debris (Oh my God, his _legs_, what happened to his legs?), and Sam was panicking, covered in dirt and scratches he hadn't had before all of this happened.

"Sam! Bee!"

Using gravity, I ran down the slope as fast as I could, stumbling to a stop against Bumblebee's shoulder.

He chirped in surprise, curling a hand around my back as I moved towards his face.

Looking up at his bright optics, I couldn't stop the tears from pricking my eyes.

"Oh, Bee…"

Clicking softly, he raised his other hand and gently wiped one of those traitorous tears away.

"_Come stop your crying/It'll be alright…I will protect you/From all around you/I will be here don't you cry…_"

As his radio went silent, Bumblebee nudged me towards Guardian, who clicked worriedly to him.

The cat-bot straightened, ears swiveling as she took in the sounds of battle.

"_**Femmeling, stay here. I must help the others.**_"

Not wanting to leave Bumblebee's side anyway, I nodded, watching as she rushed off to a battle I couldn't see.

Sparky chattered excitedly as a tow truck pulled up, and Mikaela swung out of the driver's side.

Sam immediately went to help her, and I tried to smile so Bumblebee wouldn't worry.

"It's gonna be alright, Bee. You've just gotta sit up and let them hook you up, okay?"

Whirring in acknowledgement, the Camaro-bot managed to push himself up and onto the edge of the tow truck's bed.

Mikaela immediately went to work, winding the chain securely around the Autobot's chest to keep him from falling off.

I noticed the AllSpark, sitting innocently on a slab of concrete on my right, and carefully picked it up.

My palms tingled almost painfully on contact, and I shuddered at the surge of adrenaline in my unthreatened system.

"_**Creator? Is something wrong? Creator!**_"

Sparky's chatter was distant, even though he was on my shoulder, as I stared down at the glyphs etched into the Cube's surface.

It might have been my imagination, but…

I thought the AllSpark was glowing with pride.

"Keke!"

The jolt back to reality was painful, and I clenched my jaw to hide it as I turned towards Lennox.

"All right, I can't leave my guys back there, so here, take this flare-."

A red tube was pressed into my free hand as Lennox pointed down the ruined street.

"Okay, there's a tall white building with statues on top. Go to the roof, set the flare-."

Panic filled me as I realized what he wanted me to do.

"Will, I can't-."

"Signal the chopper, and-."

"Will, I can't do it!"

He took hold of my arms and gave me a sharp shake.

"Listen to me, you're a soldier now! All right, I need you to take this Cube, get it into military hands while we hold them off, or a lot of people are gonna die."

I bit my lip, realizing that he was right, and nodded.

"…Okay. But I need Sam to come with me."

Lennox seemed ready to protest, but my tears stopped him.

"I-I can't do this alone."

I think that was the first moment Lennox realized I was only thirteen years old.

"…Alright."

Stepping back as he moved on, I wiped my eyes as Sparky chirped worriedly.

"_**Creator?**_"

"I'm fine." I replied, trying to pull myself together.

"Sam!"

The boy instinctively jumped away at my shout, and a small part of me was proud of the fear I had instilled in my older brother.

"Come on! It's time to go!"

Tossing the flare, I giggled as the tube bounced off his forehead and was juggled in the air before Sam actually got a hold on it.

"We will protect you." Ironhide promised, cannons charging as Ratchet and Guardian nodded.

That was certainly comforting, and I gave the three aliens a smile before hugging the AllSpark to my chest.

The tingle I had once felt only in my palms spread through my entire body pleasantly.

Grabbing Sam by the arm to make sure he kept up, I launched myself down the street, Sparky clinging to the torn remnants of my top to keep from falling off.

It was hard-going, thanks to the uneven ground and Sam's constant tripping, so I sighed in relief once we reached an undamaged area of the city.

The AllSpark pulsed in my arms like a warning shriek, and I dropped down, pulling Sam with me.

Something flew by right over us, so close that it's passing sent goose bumps down my spine, and Sparky screeched in fright.

Guardian roared, pouncing on Starscream while he was mid-transformation and slamming him into the ground so hard everything trembled.

"Keep moving! Don't stop!"

As my bones rattled, I scrambled to my feet and dragged Sam up with me.

The asphalt heaved under our feet as the battle raged on behind us, and Sam's clumsiness at one sudden jolt made me fall-

And the AllSpark sent out a jolt of energy as it hit the ground.

Nearby technology jumped with new life, and I kicked Sam in the arm.

"You couldn't run straight for your own life? _Really_?"

Cursing under my breath in as many languages as I could remember (I'm very curious about foreign swear words, you see), I stood up as a nearby SUV, a Mountain Dew vending machine, and a freshly-bought X-Box 360 transformed.

All of them sported red optics, and I had to remind myself that technology was reverse-engineered from _Megatron_.

"_**What's going on?**_"

"_**Where am I?**_"

"_**Why is it so loud?**_"

Repositioning the AllSpark under my arm, I stepped towards the closest robot, the SUV.

"It's alright, sweetie." I cooed, remembering Sparky's initial panic and violence.

"_**Cr-Creator?**_" She replied, looking too hopeful for me to argue.

Besides, I _was_ holding the AllSpark at the time…

"That's me."

She seemed so relieved, pressing her smooth black head against my chest with a purr so I could hug her.

"_**Are you my creator, too?**_" The little X-Box-bot wondered, skittering forward on her insect-like legs.

"_**And mine?**_"

Smiling at the wary creatures, I felt Sparky finally relax against my neck.

"Yup."

They scampered over like excited puppies, leaning against me for comfort and support.

I felt a prick of something in my chest, like four little beams of sunlight where I could feel Guardian connected to my heart, before the ground shook.

Fear filled me from four different places, but I forced myself to stay calm.

I had a job to do.

"It's alright. I need you three to follow Sparky and get a safe distance away, okay?"

Reluctantly, they let go, and Sparky climbed onto the SUV-bot's shoulder.

"Stay safe."

I made sure the odd herd made it down an alley before turning to Sam, raising an eyebrow at his stunned face.

"Keke-."

"I don't want to hear it. Just get your ass up so we can get this over with."

Once he was standing, we took off running again, the AllSpark tucked safely against my chest.

The building, a dirty white and topped with statues shaped like angels, came into view just as Megatron hit the ground behind us.

My ears rang as the AllSpark _shrieked_, and my first instinct was to shove Sam to the ground.

The next moment, I was smacked into a parked car.

Metal buckled upon impact, and my back seemed to be kicking my nerves for being so mistreated.

Pushing myself up, my spine cracked as the vertebrae realigned and I tested my flesh for wounds.

I didn't even feel blood.

"KEKE!"

Sam's shout startled me into action, and my feet were already carrying me towards the building as Megatron flipped away the car he had tossed me into.

"Give me the Cube, girl!"

Struggling to stay upright, I felt the AllSpark pulse against my chest as Sam yanked me through the chain-link fence surrounding the building.

The door was half-rotten, hanging off its hinges like a tired thing, giving way easily under our combined weight.

Thank every deity in existence for that, since stopping was _not_ on my list of things to do at that moment, right next to dying and just to the left of getting caught.

The inside was massive and empty, with flimsy stairs spiraling up from the far side towards the roof.

My legs felt like lead, but I forced myself to keep running.

"You're not gonna get us-You're not gonna get us-!" Sam muttered under his breath like a mantra as we reached the steps.

A window exploded behind us, and I hoped Sam was right.

"I can smell you, girl!"

I would have been insulted if all of my energy wasn't being focused into _running for my life_.

We had barely passed the second floor when Megatron burst through the flooring.

"MAGGOTS!"

"JACKASS!" I shouted back, anger encroaching on fear.

I have a bad habit of getting angry when I'm scared, like when Guardian and Bumblebee had been captured.

"Don't insult the evil robot!" Sam yelled, pulling me up faster.

"I insult people when I'm stressed! Stop judging me!"

My irritation fueled my tired muscles, and the AllSpark thrummed as I passed Sam on the steps, yanking him along behind me.

The end was _so close_, and I wasn't about to get beaten by a thawed popsicle!

My shoulder ached from bashing the door open, and sunlight burned my eyes as Sam hit the flare against a wall.

As it sparked and fizzled, Sam waved it wildly.

Once my eyes had adjusted to the brightness, I aimed us toward the roof's edge, in-between two statues.

A gust of wind surprised me, and I faltered just before a military helicopter came into view.

Hopping onto the raised edge, I felt Sam grab me around the waist as I leaned out to hand over the AllSpark.

Their fingers _just_ brushed the corner-

And then Guardian's roar warned me of danger.

Whipping my head around, I saw Starscream a few buildings down as he fired.

"WATCH OUT!" I screamed, pulled back by Sam.

The copter burst into flames, and my breath caught as the sharp blades came close enough to graze the AllSpark before the entire thing fell.

Terrified, I rolled off of Sam, curled over the Cube, and caught his panicked eyes.

What were we going to do now?

I shrieked when the roof shook, and was already on my feet as Megatron began to burst through.

Sam yanked me towards the corner of the roof, where an angel statue stood guard, and I swung around to the other end so Sam could settle behind me.

Caged in by his body, I hugged the AllSpark close while pressing against the worn stone.

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshlings?"

My heart tried to burst out of my chest and make a run for it as the Decepticon warlord drew closer.

"Give me the AllSpark, and you may live to be my pets."

My temper flared at that, and I couldn't help myself.

"I'm not giving you the AllSpark! I have a _gesture_ for you instead, but my hands are kinda full!"

"_Keke_!" Sam complained.

"And just so you know, the only one allowed to threaten, maim, or all-around hurt _this_ human-."

I made sure to gesture back at Sam.

"Is _me_, so you can forget about getting him as a pet! He's _my _bitch, damn it!"

I decided to take advantage of Megatron's outraged confusion.

Carefully transferring the Cube to my left hand, I felt that painful itch start up in my muscles.

"Hold on." I ordered softly, glad that Sam didn't hesitate to do so.

"And by the way…"

I couldn't help smirking then.

"_Fuck you_."

The pain nearly blinded me as my right arm reformatted and my back opened, though the transformations were quicker than before.

Taking quick aim, I fired, managing to nick him in the optic as I jumped off the edge.

Sam screamed like a little girl as the jetpack roared, slowing our descent to a messy death.

"God, what are you _made_ of? _Bricks_?" I growled.

I was starting to wish I'd left him up there…

Both of us yelped when a large hand caught us, holding us up to a warm metal chest.

"I've got you!" Optimus assured.

"Hold onto the Cube!"

After all that, I wasn't about to just drop the thing, so I secured my cannon arm over the AllSpark as it reverted back to normal.

I hissed as the metal shifted, the jetpack sliding back under my skin as Sam stared at me, wide-eyed.

"Keke…"

There was no time to even try to explain, because Megatron had landed on top of Optimus and we were all falling.

The landing was definitely a shock to my system.

Groaning, I lifted my head as Optimus lowered me and Sam to the ground.

"Sam, Keara…You risked your lives to protect the Cube."

We shared a look.

"No sacrifice…"

"No victory…"

"…Then I will sacrifice myself to destroy the Cube." Optimus decided, standing over us.

"Get behind me!"

Sam didn't hesitate to pull me towards a trench in the street, and I slid down the incline, staring at the AllSpark.

The engravings were flashing, and something…

Something in me was trying to respond.

Then my chest started to open.

It wasn't gory or painful really, more like metal plates moving away to expose my inner workings.

Sam noticed and panicked worse than I was, flailing his arms as a blue glow escaped from where my heart should have been.

I only had a moment to wonder what was going on when a thread of energy from the AllSpark connected with the light.

My senses returned slowly, the overload having scattered them, and I found myself in a world of…

Nothingness.

Well, maybe not _nothingness_; I could breathe, and everything was white, so there must have been something there besides me.

"Hello, Sparkchild."

The voice came from everywhere at once, neither male nor female, and I practically jumped out of my skin.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"And where am I?"

"I am the sentience of the AllSpark. And we are in a portion of my consciousness at the moment."

Well, I wasn't really expecting that…

"But…"

"I don't have much time to explain, Sparkchild. Give me a moment, and all of your questions will be answered in time."

Biting my lip to keep from saying anything, I nodded.

"For millennia, I have watched my children suffer through this war. While on Earth, I have realized that it would not end without my intervention."

The AllSpark stopped, almost like it was sad at the revelation.

"…So I brought you into the world, one of my last children. I could not create you the usual way, and was forced to bring you into being with an organic base."

I was fairly certain that my brain imploded.

"You mean I'm not…?"

"You are what is called a techno-organic. As your 'puberty' progresses, more of your Cybertronian traits will show themselves. You have already activated your defense systems, if I'm not mistaken."

Rubbing at my right arm, I sighed.

"Yeah, I kinda noticed…"

"Guardian was created to protect you until the time came for you to end this war. I'm sure you have already noticed the Bond."

I was starting to understand, feeling a surge of worry enter my heart along with pinpricks of fear.

"I am proud of you, Sparkchild. Your bravery and loyalty have shown me that bringing you into this world was not a mistake."

Slightly overwhelmed, I couldn't help blushing at the praise.

"Most would call it recklessness and an inability to admit I'm wrong."

"I can see what most cannot, Sparkchild. You may not realize it yet, but you are destined for great things."

"Like getting stepped on by giant alien robots?" I wondered, smiling.

A warm chuckle filled the air, like a deep silver bell.

"I hope your Creator appreciates your humor as much as I do."

"Creator?" I parroted, confused.

"I already have parents."

"It is true that you have human Creators, but I have seen that they are not quite up to the task of helping you understand your new Cybertronian aspects."

If 'not quite up to the task' translated to 'run around like headless chickens', then I couldn't argue.

"And I believe he deserves a chance to be happy. After all that has happened, he has earned that much."

"He? Who's 'he'?" I wondered.

"You will see."

For a moment, the emptiness felt like an embrace, a parent holding their child.

"My little Sparkchild…"

I couldn't think of anything to say, and just leaned into the warmth, searching for something I couldn't touch.

"I have been unable to give you your designation, your Cybertronian name…It may help answer some of your questions."

Blinking as my vision started to swim, I straightened, heart beating a touch faster.

"What's going on?"

"It is almost time for you to go." The AllSpark explained calmly, sounding slightly muffled now.

"But first, your designation…"

The name was whispered into my ears just before the real world crashed down on me.

"_Keke_!"

My chest closed with an audible 'SNAP' as I realized I wasn't in the ditch anymore.

Sam must have been dragging me away from the battle, pretty unsuccessfully, and Megatron had just noticed.

"I'll kill you! Mine... AllSpark!"

"Keara! Push the Cube into my chest, NOW!" Optimus ordered from behind me, where Sam was scrambling to.

The AllSpark thrummed against me, and I knew what I had to do.

Pushing myself up, and ignoring every ache I had accumulated over the past two days (God, had it only been two days?), I ran towards the danger instead of away from it.

"KEKE!"

"KEARA!"

The Cube glowed in my hands, giving me strength as I dodged Megatron's clawed hands and skidded under his torso.

With a quick prayer, I shoved the AllSpark against his chest armor.

It was like a violent chemical reaction as the Cube fused with something in Megatron's chest, superheating the metal.

Something rushed into my own chest from the AllSpark, and my vocal cords froze in a silent scream at the _fire_ rushing through my veins…

I really don't know what happened after that.


	10. Chapter 10

Caught between awake and asleep, floating in a gray in-between world, all I had were my Bonds.

They were all I could feel, besides my own thoughts and emotions, and all I could really concentrate on.

The Bonds I had with the sparklings (wait, how did I know they were sparklings?) were still weak, fresh, but I could sense their fear and concern.

I wanted to comfort them like I wanted to comfort Guardian, but all I could do was send my own feelings to them, tell them that I was still there.

There was nothing I wanted more than to wake up.

Another Bond, one I couldn't identify, distracted me from my wishes.

I realized it was the Bond I had felt when kidnapped by Sector Seven, and, remembering the warmth I had felt, reached for it.

There was a jolt, as if the other person hadn't expected me, before the warmth started to trickle in.

The gray was starting to turn blue, like an Autobot's optics, and I leaned into the presence for comfort.

Encouraged by my actions, the warmth wrapped around me more securely, a safety blanket.

Then I remembered the name the AllSpark had given me…

And it all made sense.

* * *

><p>Consciousness came slowly, like waves slowly encroaching on the shore, each bringing a new perception to test my surroundings.<p>

First was touch; warm metal and lukewarm air, the vibration of an idling engine, small forms curled against my side.

Then hearing; the gentle purr of an engine, idle chattering, the soft touch of metal on metal.

Sight came slowly; dark metal, dimmed optics, shadows formed by the large body shielding my eyes from a bright overhead light.

Blinking slowly, I turned my head to see Sparky and the X-Box-bot pressed into my side like fitful kittens.

The SUV was curled around the head of whatever bed I was on, a heavy arm laying on my torso as if to keep me from escaping, while the vending machine-bot lay at the foot of the bed, fidgeting like a puppy dreaming of chasing squirrels.

"_**Keara.**_" Guardian greeted softly, coming around the bed to settle on my free side.

"_**I am glad you are awake.**_"

"Glad to be awake." I admitted softly, smiling.

"What have I missed?"

"_**Quite a bit, actually. But first, I should tell the others that you have woken up.**_"

She was careful to nuzzle my stomach in farewell before heading towards the door, and I watched the, rather large, door close before moving.

"Alright, little ones. Time to wake up."

Four sets of optics flickered on, startled.

"_**Creator!**_" Sparky chirped, climbing around to my neck and nuzzling me happily.

The others were just as excited, snuggling closer, careful not to put their full weight on me.

Content, I ran a hand over the metal of their heads…

And noticed the bandages.

Pausing, I curled my fingers over the gauze covering my palms, flinching at the pain.

Checking myself over for other injuries, careful of my damaged hands, I found another bandage on my chest, right over the sternum.

Other than that, I was completely unharmed.

"KEKE!"

The two smaller bots scrambled to avoid getting crushed in Sam's flying hug, and I grunted as my lungs were crushed.

"You're okay!"

"I _was_, until you started crushing me." I grumbled, shoving at his face so Sam fell off the bed.

"You've been unconscious for a week." Mikaela informed me, looking relieved.

"They said you might not wake up."

"Drama queens." I teased, smirking.

"After all we've been through, you thought I'd just up and die on you? Ye of little faith!"

"I wasn't worried." Sam boasted.

"I've seen you fall off the roof, jump out of a moving car, and blow up a chemistry lab. I knew you'd be fine."

"How was _I_ supposed to know those chemicals didn't like each other?" I defended.

"Remind me never to let _you_ near anything sharp." Epps teased, coming up behind Sam and Mikaela with Lennox.

"And after I saved all your asses? I'm hurt."

I pushed myself up, prepared to get on my feet, when Sam panicked.

"You shouldn't get up!"

"What are you, my mother?" I retorted, pushing him away by the face again.

"I'm just _fine_, you overdramatic-."

A robotic cough interrupted me, and I looked up at Ratchet, who looked between amused and serious.

"…You want me to stay in the bed?"

He crossed his arms with a look that said 'what do you think?'.

"…I'm getting back in the bed."

"How come you put up a fight with me, but he doesn't even have to say anything?" Sam demanded, arms flailing as I laid back down.

"Are you a giant alien robot doctor?"

"No…"

"Then I don't take orders from you." I snarled, kicking him in the thigh.

As he fell down with a yelp of pain, overdramatic as always, I looked up at Ratchet with a grin.

"So, what's the diagnosis?"

"Besides the burns you sustained from the AllSpark, you're in perfect condition." He replied, shaking a Autobot-sized wrench at me.

"But if you even think about doing anything that dangerous again, I'll weld your aft to the ceiling!"

"…You can weld my ass to a ceiling?"

"I can try."

Well, if _that_ wasn't a warning, I don't know what is.

"Message received." I assured, holding my hands up in surrender.

"Oh, come on! You never do that when _I _threaten you!" Sam whined.

"You've been my squishy punching back for thirteen years; you're not scary."

Lennox and Epps snickered at his expense, but at least Mikaela covered up her smile for the sake of whatever masculine pride Sam had.

"Good to see you haven't lost your sense of humor." Ratchet noted, now more amused than violent.

"Take more than a few burns to get me down." I assured, running a hand over the SUV's neck as she curled tighter around me.

"I'm tougher than I look."

"I'm happy to hear that."

Looking past Ratchet towards the door, I couldn't help smiling as Optimus stepped further inside.

"You gave us quite a scare."

"You think that was a scare? You should have seen the heart attack I gave Sam when I tried bungee-jumping off the fridge when I was four."

"You didn't have a bungee cord!"

"Details." I replied airily, brushing off his declaration.

"_**Important details.**_" Guardian argued, amused, as she slipped back into the room.

"Traitor." I joked, tossing my pillow at her nose.

She laughed as it bounced off harmlessly, and nuzzled my side with a purr.

"_**Silly femmeling.**_"

"Stupid cat." I replied playfully, hugging her nose.

The SUV and X-Box-bot whined at the lack of attention, and I laughed at their attempts to wriggle into my hug.

"Clingy." I chided, patting their heads.

"Why don't you go beg Bumblebee and Ironhide for some attention? I'll be here when you get back-."

They didn't even hesitate; all four of them ran out of the door like a herd of disturbed wildebeest in a Discovery Channel documentary.

"Gee, don't I feel like a loved mother…" I drawled.

"_Mother_?"

"What, I need to be deaf, too?" I complained, shoving Sam away with my foot.

"Get out of here if you're gonna get all panicky on me."

"But-."

"My arm turns into a cannon, boy. _Out_."

With a threatening wave of my right arm, the other humans were quick to follow him, mumbling excuses the entire way as Guardian laughed.

"Could I talk with Optimus in private?"

I pulled out my best Puppy-Dog Eyes when Ratchet looked ready to argue.

"Please?"

"…Get out of that bed, and I'll scrap you for parts."

That was probably the best I was gonna get, so I saluted as he shooed Guardian out with threats to reconfigure her into a toaster.

Once the door shut with an echoing 'BANG', I looked up as Optimus crouched down to my level.

"Is something bothering you?"

"Nothing really. The AllSpark just told me some things I think you'd like to know."

Picking at the bandages on my palms, I organized what I wanted to say into a coherent order.

"You see, during my little mind-vacation with the AllSpark, it told me a few things-one of them I'm sure you've figured out already."

"We realized you were a techno-organic when you were captured by Sector Seven." Optimus admitted.

"There was not much time to explain it to you."

"I understand." I assured, smiling.

"The AllSpark also gave me my designation…"

"It is an honor to receive a designation from the AllSpark. What is it?"

My smile turned slightly unsure.

"Angel Prime."


End file.
